Man City can be considered the strongest team in the FA Cup quarter-finals this season. In terms of statistics, coach Pep Guardiola's team has won the last 7 FA Cup quarter-finals.
They have also reached the semi-finals of the competition in the past 6 seasons, an achievement that no other English team has achieved.
In the Premier League, Man City played inconsistently and have dropped to 5th place in the rankings. They no longer have a chance to compete for the championship and have also been eliminated from other cup tournaments. Therefore, the FA Cup is the only arena that can bring the title to The Citizens this season.
Therefore, even if they cannot maintain their previous strength, Man City will have a different mindset when competing in the FA Cup.
On the other side, Bournemouth have performed impressively at the beginning of the year with 12 unbeaten matches in all competitions. But in the last 8 matches, Andoni Iraola and his team have lost 4 times. From a top 4 position, they have now dropped to 10th in the Premier League.
In the FA Cup, this is only the second time The Cherries have qualified for the quarter-finals. They have both lost previous times, against Man United in 1957 and Southampton in 2020-21. Compared to Man City, the experience of this team is much inferior.
However, to get here, Bournemouth went through a commendable journey, overcoming Everton and Wolves. Bournemouth and Man City have never met in the FA Cup. But in November, the Vitality team won 2-1 against Man City. This result will give Bournemouth more confidence when hosting the formidable opponent Man City.
It is a pity that Bournemouth will be without both key defenders, Milos Kerkez and Dean Huijsen against Man City after receiving two yellow cards.
Expected lineup
Bournemouth: Kepa; Cook, Hill, Zabarnyi, Soler; Christie, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Tavernier; Evanilson
Manchester City: Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Gundogan; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland
