Preview: High-flying Cherries head to Man CitySharePep Guardiola’s inconsistent, eighth placed Man City host Andoni Iraola’s high-flying, second placed Bournemouth at the Etihad on Saturday. That Premier League, eh?By Alex RobertsCity found out what happens when Erling Haaland doesn’t turn up in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the previous round of fixtures. Without the big Norwegian scoring, they truly looked impotent.As for Bournemouth, everything they touch is turning to gold, even Marcus Tavernier is scoring directly from corners, and Eli Junior Kroupi looks like a Kylian Mbappé regen, bagging three goals in two league games.No Haaland, big problem?It’s starting to feel like ‘get the ball to Haaland’ is Guardiola’s only plan at the moment, though in his defence, it’s not necessarily a bad one. Remarkably, no other Man City player has scored more than a single Premier League goal so far this season.Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres had Haaland’s number at Villa Park, with the striker having 17 touches, the fewest of any outfield player. He did have a 100% pass success rate, however, but there were only seven of them.Thankfully for Guardiola and City, Haaland is arguably the best at putting the ball in the back of the net in the world, you could probably count on one hand how many times he’s gone without a goal across two games. It’s not sustainable though, and if they want to be winning the big trophies again, they’ll need other players to start chipping in.He was rested for the League Cup win over Swansea over in midweek after appearing to be in some discomfort due to a nasty collision with the post at Villa Park, but he will doubtless be doing everything he can to be back for this one.Milos Kerkez has been long forgottenBournemouth’s defensive rebuild needs to go down in the history books. After losing Dean Huijsen, Ilya Zabarnyi, and Kerkez, many had written them off, but if anything, they’re better than they were last season.Perhaps the best of the replacement signings has been Adrien Truffert. The French wing-back has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, already creating six chances, having nine successful dribbles, and ten successful crosses.If Kerkez is worth the £40 million Liverpool spent on him, Truffet may be worth double that. He never stops, not only is he an attacking threat, but his defensive numbers also illustrate just how good his is all over the left flank. Truffet has made 44 recoveries, eight interceptions, and won 45 duels.We look forward to seeing who Bournemouth replace him with next summer…Team newsThe only player that Guardiola will DEFINETLY be without is Rodri. The Ballon d’Or winner is out with a muscle injury, although he is back in training. Mateo Kovačić and his fantastic new hair could come in and take his place, although Nico González has done a fine job.As we mentioned, Haaland is hit or miss, but if he is available, he’ll start and probably score.Iraola has an almost clean bill of health, with Enes Ünal still recovering from his ACL injury and Evanilson doubtful due to a calf issue.PredictionWe predict another frustrating outing for Guardiola’s lads here; 2-1 to Bournemouth.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Preview: High-flying Cherries head to Man CityPep Guardiola’s inconsistent, eighth placed Man City host Andoni Iraola’s high-flying, second placed Bournemouth at the Etihad on Saturday. That Premier League, eh?By Alex RobertsCity found out what happens when Erling Haaland doesn’t turn up in their 1-0 defeat to Aston Villa in the previous round of fixtures. Without the big Norwegian scoring, they truly looked impotent.As for Bournemouth, everything they touch is turning to gold, even Marcus Tavernier is scoring directly from corners, and Eli Junior Kroupi looks like a Kylian Mbappé regen, bagging three goals in two league games.No Haaland, big problem?It’s starting to feel like ‘get the ball to Haaland’ is Guardiola’s only plan at the moment, though in his defence, it’s not necessarily a bad one. Remarkably, no other Man City player has scored more than a single Premier League goal so far this season.Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres had Haaland’s number at Villa Park, with the striker having 17 touches, the fewest of any outfield player. He did have a 100% pass success rate, however, but there were only seven of them.Thankfully for Guardiola and City, Haaland is arguably the best at putting the ball in the back of the net in the world, you could probably count on one hand how many times he’s gone without a goal across two games. It’s not sustainable though, and if they want to be winning the big trophies again, they’ll need other players to start chipping in.He was rested for the League Cup win over Swansea over in midweek after appearing to be in some discomfort due to a nasty collision with the post at Villa Park, but he will doubtless be doing everything he can to be back for this one.Milos Kerkez has been long forgottenBournemouth’s defensive rebuild needs to go down in the history books. After losing Dean Huijsen, Ilya Zabarnyi, and Kerkez, many had written them off, but if anything, they’re better than they were last season.Perhaps the best of the replacement signings has been Adrien Truffert. The French wing-back has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, already creating six chances, having nine successful dribbles, and ten successful crosses.If Kerkez is worth the £40 million Liverpool spent on him, Truffet may be worth double that. He never stops, not only is he an attacking threat, but his defensive numbers also illustrate just how good his is all over the left flank. Truffet has made 44 recoveries, eight interceptions, and won 45 duels.We look forward to seeing who Bournemouth replace him with next summer…Team newsThe only player that Guardiola will DEFINETLY be without is Rodri. The Ballon d’Or winner is out with a muscle injury, although he is back in training. Mateo Kovačić and his fantastic new hair could come in and take his place, although Nico González has done a fine job.As we mentioned, Haaland is hit or miss, but if he is available, he’ll start and probably score.Iraola has an almost clean bill of health, with Enes Ünal still recovering from his ACL injury and Evanilson doubtful due to a calf issue.PredictionWe predict another frustrating outing for Guardiola’s lads here; 2-1 to Bournemouth.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.