Man City Players Must Not Think They Are Special After Cup Double

Manchester City visit Bournemouth needing victory to keep serious pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race, while Bournemouth chase a point that would secure Europa League football and mark Andoni Iraola’s final home match in charge with a landmark achievement for the south‑coast club.

City trail Arsenal by five points but hold a game in hand, so defeat or even a draw at the Vitality Stadium would almost certainly hand the advantage to Mikel Arteta’s side, who edged Burnley 1-0 on Monday to keep control of top spot with one match remaining.

Pep Guardiola’s squad arrive having already lifted the EFL Cup in March and the FA Cup on Saturday, when Manchester City beat Chelsea 1-0, keeping hopes of a domestic treble alive, yet Guardiola insists the players must avoid any sense of superiority if they want to add the Premier League title.

"You start to believe that you are special, you will just win the FA Cup, Guardiola told reporters earlier on Monday. Special we are not. The moment that we think [that], we will not be in these places. Quite often, that is one of the things that through the years, we were okay with, and we know how difficult it is just to arrive and then win it."

Reports have also circulated that Guardiola may end a decade in charge after Sunday’s home finale against Aston Villa, which would make this trip even more important, as another league crown would represent a 21st major trophy of Guardiola’s Manchester City tenure if Arsenal slip.

Guardiola stressed that Manchester City’s focus must remain on performance rather than the potential farewell narrative, noting the supporters want the title race extended to the final day and that the only way to achieve this is by beating Bournemouth away from home on Tuesday night.

"We are close, but we still don't have it, said Iraola ahead of his final home game in charge of Bournemouth. We need one more point, but it won't be easy. [Manchester] City are in good form after a trophy. They are also fighting for the league but we are ready. We are in a good place, we don't have injuries. We are looking forward to the game."

Bournemouth are unbeaten in 16 straight Premier League matches, with eight wins and eight draws, the longest such sequence of any team in this season’s competition, and four victories in their last five league games equal the total from their previous 22 fixtures combined.

Manchester City vs Bournemouth prediction and key players

A draw would confirm Bournemouth’s place in next season’s Europa League, giving Iraola the opportunity to leave having guided Bournemouth into European competition for the first time, and the coach believes the squad’s current fitness and confidence levels give Bournemouth a realistic chance of matching Manchester City’s intensity.

Player form will be central. For Bournemouth, Rayan has scored in three successive Premier League appearances, and if Rayan finds the net again, Rayan would join Robbie Fowler, Nicolas Anelka and Francis Jeffers as the only teenagers to score in four consecutive games in the competition.

Manchester City will again look to Erling Haaland, who has been involved in 15 Premier League goals away from home this season, scoring 11 and assisting four, with only Sergio Aguero managing more away goal contributions for Manchester City in a single league campaign.

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Historically, Manchester City have dominated this fixture, winning 16 of 17 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth and losing only once, giving City a 94.1% win rate, the highest of any team against one opponent in the competition’s history among pairings with at least 10 matches played.

That lone defeat, however, came at the Vitality Stadium last season when Bournemouth claimed a 2-1 victory, and Manchester City have also struggled recently on the south coast, losing three of their last four Premier League away matches at Bournemouth, Brighton and Southampton, drawing the other fixture.

City’s broader end‑of‑season away record is stronger, with just two defeats in their final away league game across the last 16 campaigns, alongside 11 wins and three draws, while Bournemouth have lost four of their last six final home league matches, though they beat Leicester City 2-0 in last season’s closing home fixture.

OPTA modelling gives Bournemouth a 23.5% chance of victory and Manchester City a 53.5% chance, with a draw rated at 23%, numbers that underline City’s status as favourites but also reflect Bournemouth’s long unbeaten run and the pressure surrounding a title race entering its final week.