Manchester City head into Saturday's Premier League encounter with Bournemouth looking to extend their lead at the top of the standings to five points with each of their nearest rivals playing on Sunday.
Bournemouth make the trip to the Etihad Stadium having suffered three successive defeats, but the Cherries still remain in eighth place in the table.
Manchester City
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Pep Guardiola acknowledged that his side had been thoroughly tested during their 2-2 draw with Lyon in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but the Spaniard will only take positives ahead of the next period of fixtures.
City twice came from behind in France in a game where they knew that a share of the spoils would be enough to secure qualification for the last 16, and they did that without the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
Guardiola was eventually rewarded for taking a bold approach to a difficult fixture, and while City still have work to do in order to secure top spot in their group, it effectively frees up the club to place more focus on their upcoming games on the domestic scene.
City play a total of nine fixtures in all competitions throughout December, and Guardiola will be eager for his side to maintain their momentum ahead of the clash with Chelsea on December 8.
Twelve wins and two draws have come from City's last 14 outings, with 44 goals and 10 clean sheets also being registered during that spell, but Guardiola will be aware that his team cannot afford to lower their standards over such a hectic period of games.
Raheem Sterling continues to be City's main man this season, with eight goals and six assists coming from 16 outings in the top flight and Champions League, but Leroy Sane has started to match the Englishman after a match-winning display at West Ham United last weekend.
City deserved their victory at the London Stadium, but the 4-0 scoreline did not tell the whole story, with the Hammers squandering several chances to at least trouble their opponents.
That will at least ensure that Guardiola warns his side of showing any complacency against a team in Bournemouth who can cause problems in the final third, and that may prove beneficial at a time when the club are looking to put daylight between themselves and the chasing pack.
Recent form: DWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WWWWWD
Bournmeouth
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Eddie Howe has much to ponder having witnessed his side suffer three defeats in a row, but the English boss should not feel too downhearted when taking everything into consideration.
The Cherries remain in eighth spot - and just two points off sixth-placed Everton - and each of their recent setbacks have only come by a 2-1 scoreline.
Losing to Arsenal last weekend was partly down to bad luck, too, with Bournemouth seeing an early goal wrongly disallowed for offside before midfielder Jefferson Lerma sent a 15-yard volley into his own net.
The latter was arguably avoidable, but the fact that the Colombian's attempted clearance flew past Asmir Begovic rather than going behind for a corner kick summed up the last four weeks for Howe and his side.
The games get no easier with City, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United all to come over the space of the next month, but Howe is at least in a position where he is now able to call upon Joshua King after injury.
An ankle problem had sidelined the Norway international for a month, but the attacker returned to find the back of the net against the Gunners and the 25-year-old will have a crucial part to play over the next set of games.
Howe will not necessarily be too concerned about a backline who have not conceded more than two goals in any of their last seven top-flight fixtures, but he will at least acknowledge that improvements must be made to the defensive aspect of their game in order to cope with a rampant City outfit.
More priority will be placed on the outcome of Tuesday's meeting with Huddersfield Town but even if a fourth successive defeat does occur this weekend, Howe will be eager to ensure that it is not a comprehensive one ahead of their return to action at the Vitality Stadium.
Recent form: WDWLLL
Recent form (all competitions): DWWLLL
Team News
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Guardiola should be able to call upon the services of Bernardo, with the Portugal international having sat out the last two matches through a knock sustained on international duty.
Gabriel Jesus missed the trip to Lyon with a minor groin problem but the attacker could return to the bench, and Gundogan is expected to be available again after a foot injury.
However, the game will come too soon for De Bruyne, and Guardiola may opt to rotate some of his key men ahead of a run of three Premier League games in the space of a week.
Bournemouth manager Howe will be forced into at least one change, with Lerma serving a suspension having picked up five yellow cards.
That could result in a recall for Lewis Cook, while Junior Stanislas is also in contention for a starting role with Howe perhaps having one eye on the contest with Huddersfield.
Tyrone Mings may also be considered for his first league outing of the campaign, with Howe needing match-fit backup for Charlie Daniels due to a long-term injury to Adam Smith.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Danilo, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko; Fernandinho, Delph; Bernardo, D.Silva, Sane; Aguero
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Begovic; Francis, S.Cook, Ake, Ming; Cook, Gosling; Brooks, King, Fraser; Wilson
Head To Head
Saturday's game will represent the 13th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with City registering 10 victories and Bournemouth yet to record a single win.
The two draws came in 1989 and 1999 - when the teams were competing in the old Division Two - with City winning each of the six contests in the Premier League.
As many as 21 goals have been scored during those half-a-dozen matches, with Bournemouth finding the back of the net on just two occasions.
We say: Manchester City 3-0 Bournemouth
City played in France as recently as Tuesday, but they should have enough in the tank to see off Bournemouth in the North-West. The Cherries have a tough run of fixtures during the rest of 2018, and Howe will be keen to avoid a heavy defeat.
Darren Plant
