Pep Guardiola sends Bournemouth warning to Manchester City squad amid title race doubts | OneFootball

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has reaffirmed the quality possessed by Bournemouth ahead of their visit to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

City are aiming to return to winning ways in the Premier League after their two month unbeaten run in all competitions ended at nine games last week when Matty Cash’s strike secured a 1-0 win for Aston Villa over the lacklustre Blues.

Guardiola’s men registered their place in the Carabao Cup quarter-final in midweek as strikes from Jeremy Doku, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki sealed a 3-1 win for City in Wales in the fourth-round of the competition.

Several changes are expected to the lineup against Bournemouth after key stars such as Erling Haaland, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Bernardo Silva and Tijjani Reijnders were rested in midweek ahead of a tricky run of games against the Cherries, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool.

“It’s a consistent team, and a fantastic team, manager, players. A tough opponent, but we know,” said Guardiola in a reminder to his Manchester City players about the quality possessed by their upcoming opponents in a press conference on Friday.

Guardiola is hopeful of recalling Ballon d’Or winning midfielder Rodri back to action in some capacity against Bournemouth, with the 29-year-old back in training for a week after recovering from a hamstring injury.

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has extolled the virtues of Manchester City in his own pre-match comments, praising the way the Blues have recovered from their early season slump with no hangover of their dismal 2024-25 season.

“If he says, maybe he’s right,” said Guardiola in response to Iraola’s praise as his side look to return to winning ways and close the gap on league leaders Arsenal, who are six points ahead of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.

City will have to keep an eye on Cherries striker Antoine Semenyo on Sunday, with the Ghanian boasting a strong scoring record against the eight-time Premier League champions in recent seasons.

“He’s an extraordinary player,” said Guardiola on Semenyo, who opened the scoring for the Cherries in their 2-1 win over Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium last season and has scored six times in the Premier League this season.

Guardiola opted for John Stones in central midfield last week against Villa but the Catalan is expected to revert to a natural midfielder in the number six position on Sunday, with Nico Gonzalez set to return to the starting XI after getting a run-out against Swansea City in midweek.

Manchester City need to pick up their momentum if they are to keep up the pressure on Arsenal, who are showing no signs of weakness and have gone from strength to strength in the early stages of the season in their quest of a first Premier League title in 22 years.