English Premier
2026-05-19 - Bournemouth vs Manchester City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 19th May 2026 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV
Bournemouth
The weekend results have been positive for Bournemouth to the extent that Andoni Iraola will pass the baton to Marco Rose with European Football secured for next season. However, Aston Villa's win over Liverpool on Friday means 6th place does not necessarily have Champions League Football attached to it and so Bournemouth need to win out and hope that is enough for a top five finish.
A loss for Brighton and a draw for Brentford means Bournemouth remain 6th in the Premier League standings and a victory on Tuesday would guarantee a top six finish. It would also mean The Cherries are just a point behind Liverpool in 5th place in the standings, but the manager and the players will not be looking beyond concluding the campaign at the Vitality Stadium with a positive result. The side have a 7-9-2 record here in the Premier League this season.
Bournemouth got the better of Fulham in the last outing and they are unbeaten in 16 Premier League games, while winning 4 of the last 5 to build up some real momentum. The last Premier League defeat was suffered at home against Arsenal, but Bournemouth are unbeaten in 8 League games here. However, 5 in a row had ended in draws before Bournemouth's emphatic win over Crystal Palace earlier this month.
Ryan Christie is suspended, but Lewis Cook could be involved.
Manchester City
Another domestic Cup was secured on Saturday in Manchester City's battling 1-0 win over Chelsea in the FA Cup Final to add to the League Cup already won in March. The Treble is still a possibility for Manchester City, but Pep Guardiola has made it clear his team can only focus on winning the last 2 League games and seeing how the table looks at the end of Sunday.
Reports have once again surfaced that Guardiola is set to announce his departure as manager of Manchester City with former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca rumoured to have an agreement in place to take over. The club will not make any statements in this big final week of the season and Manchester City travel to the South Coast with a 9-5-4 away record.
Manchester City's win on Saturday at Wembley Stadium means they are unbeaten in 10 games in all competitions and have won 9 of those fixtures played. The side had won consecutive away Premier League games before what could be the fatal dropped points at Hill Dickinson Stadium where Manchester City fought back for a 3-3 draw with Everton.
The manager has been speaking to the press and has announced he has a full squad to travel with on Tuesday. There will still be one or two changes to the starting eleven with Rayan Cherki pushing for a return.
Head to Head
Manchester City beat Bournemouth 3-1 at home earlier this season.
They have won 8 of the last 9 visits to the Vitality Stadium, but the exception was Bournemouth's 2-1 win here in the Premier League last season.
However, Manchester City came from behind to win a FA Cup Quarter Final at the Vitality Stadium later in the same campaign.
Prediction
The preview is being written before Arsenal host relegated Burnley, but even the Manchester City members tuning into that fixture will not be expecting anything other than a home win.
Pep Guardiola has challenged his team to make sure they take the Premier League title race into the final day of the season, but only a win will be enough for Manchester City, unless Burnley have found a massive upset. That would leave them needing to win one more game and hoping Crystal Palace can do them a favour, but winning at the Vitality Stadium has proven to be very difficult for all visiting teams this season.
Not only have Bournemouth only been beaten twice here this season, but they are unbeaten in 16 Premier League games overall and have won 4 of the last 5.
European Football has been confirmed for the next campaign, which is a huge achievement for Andoni Iraola and the players just as the manager signs off in his time in charge at the club.
However, Bournemouth may yet be playing in the Champions League after results this past weekend and beating Manchester City would put them just a point behind Liverpool in the top five with a game to play. That has to offer the team motivation and Bournemouth did manage to get the better of Manchester City the last time they hosted them in the Premier League in November 2024.
The Cherries will play with a real attacking intent and that will pose problems for Manchester City, although the visiting team have the talent in the final third to hurt the hosts too.
It makes this a fascinating fixture with so much on the line for both teams and games between Bournemouth and Manchester City have been pretty entertaining in recent times.
They shared out four goals earlier this season at the Etihad Stadium, and 16 of the last 19 fixtures between the clubs have produced at least three goals.
The layers are anticipating attacking football and giving nothing away with very short odds on seeing at least three goals on Tuesday evening.
Instead it may be worth the risk of backing at least four goals to be provided when you think 5 of the last 8 between these clubs have reached that target. Both teams need to play with real attacking intent with goal difference still a potential factor in the title race for Manchester City and Bournemouth looking for three points to guarantee a top six spot and perhaps even finding a way to move into the Champions League places.
An early goal could spark a game that should have enough fearless football being played in the final third to see chances created and so backing goals, and lots of them, is the approach for this penultimate League fixture for both teams.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Bournemouth 2-3 Manchester City
