Manchester City’s last reasonable chance at a trophy this season hits the Vitality Stadium on Sunday for an FA Cup quarterfinal clash with a confident Bournemouth.
The Citizens are out of the Champions League and would need an irrational finish to the Premier League season to even contend for another crown, but Pep Guardiola’s men can claim their eighth FA Cup with just three more wins.
MORE — FA Cup schedule | List of FA Cup winners, finals
The next hurdle may be the tallest.
Bournemouth have been exceptional this season, a campaign which now includes their first ever win over City in 22 tries — November’s 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries have seen their European hopes take a bit hit with a 1W-1D-4L run in the Premier League that includes three home losses, the lone win coming against 20th-place Southampton.
But they’ve knocked off a pair of Premier League peers in the FA Cup and see a path to silverware if they can knock off City, as the rest of the traditional ‘Big Six’ have already been eliminated at this stage.
How to watch Bournemouth vs Manchester City live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 8:30am ET Sunday
Venue: Vitality Stadium — Bournemouth
TV/streaming: ESPN+
Bournemouth team news, focus
OUT: Julian Araujo (thigh), Illia Zabarnyi (suspension), Enes Unal (knee), Marcos Senesi (thigh), Adam Smith (knock)
Manchester City team news, focus
OUT: John Stones (thigh), Rodri (torn ACL - MORE), Manuel Akanji (groin), Nathan Ake (ankle) | QUESTIONABLE: Oscar Bobb (fitness), Bernardo Silva (undisclosed)
Bournemouth vs Manchester City prediction
The odds say this could be tight. The mind says it’ll be tense and perhaps quite fun, as both teams could use this trophy for different reasons. City’s defensive injuries open a door for Bournemouth and vice versa. Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen give the Cherries vibrancy coming out of the back, but that won’t worry City any more than they concerns the young backs. Neutral may be looking to this for the home upstarts, but there have been plenty of Cinderella scripts that’ve played out with shattered glass slippers. Bournemouth 1-2 Manchester City.
