Premier League, Tuesday, 20.05.2025 at 21:00
Will the Skyblues miss out on qualifying for the Champions League this season? That’s the question I’m addressing in my Manchester City Bournemouth tip. In the Premier League, champions Liverpool and Arsenal have already secured their Champions League tickets.
Behind them, however, it’s very close and exciting. Five teams are vying for the remaining three places in the Champions League. Only one point separates Newcastle (third) and Nottingham Forest (seventh).
Manchester City, however, can still put themselves in pole position in this race before the final matchday. The Citizens host AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday in a rescheduled match.
With three points, the Citizens could climb to third place in the table. The odds for the Manchester City Bournemouth prediction also leave little doubt about the hosts’ success.
However, I have come to a slightly different conclusion and am betting on a “Bournemouth win with a +2 handicap” at odds of 1.60 with Merkur Bets.
In the current PL table, the Skyblues are five places and 12 points ahead of the Cherries. Of course, the bookmakers, which include betting providers with Apple Pay and betting providers with PayPal, have not overlooked the direct comparison between the two clubs.
As home advantage also plays a major role, the Manchester City Bournemouth odds are quite clear. For a home win, you can get odds of 1.54 at best. On the other hand, Manchester City Bournemouth betting odds between 5.50 and 6.20 await you for a win for the visitors.
The 2024/25 season has not been a good one for Manchester City FC, who are used to success. And this misery continued on Saturday at Wembley in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace.
Pep Guardiola suffered his second FA Cup final defeat in 12 months with a 1-0 loss to Oliver Glasner’s team. Last year, they lost to city rivals Manchester United.
This means that the club will finish a season without a title for the first time since Guardiola took over. The coach once again failed to get his tactics right against the Eagles from London.
The coach opted for De Bruyne and Silva in the double six, while Gündogan and Nico remained on the bench. Despite 76.7 percent possession, the Skyblues were unable to capitalize on any of their chances.
To make matters worse, Omar Marmoush missed a penalty when the score was 0-1. In the Premier League, last season’s champions are also only in sixth place. With a win in the rescheduled game against AFC, City could repair this slip-up.
Should City win against the Cherries, a draw at Fulham on the last matchday would be enough to qualify for their 15th consecutive Champions League appearance due to their strong goal difference.
Of course, this match-up also offers us a few more Manchester City Bournemouth tips. In the Citizens’ last five home games, more goals were scored in the first half.
Bwin offers odds of 3.00 for the tip “More goals in the first half.” Before you place your bet, be sure to redeem the current Bwin voucher. In the last five matches between the two clubs at the Etihad, there have always been at least two goals before half-time.
If this streak continues, Winamax will give you odds of 2.10 for the bet “First half over 1.5 goals.”
Last season, Bournemouth struggled to get going under new coach Andoni Iraola. It took them ten games to secure their first win. But then AFC finished the season in 12th place with 48 points.
Never before had the Cherries finished a Premier League season with so many points. And despite some high-profile departures, the club was hoping for a place in the safe mid-table this season.
After the first half of the season, the men from the south coast were even in an impressive seventh place, just one point behind champions Manchester City. In the second half of the season, the Cherries are currently only in 14th place.
Nevertheless, coach Iraola’s men can still hope for a European ticket. Eighth place, which could be enough for international competition if Chelsea triumphs in the UEFA Conference League, is just two points away.
Bournemouth was particularly strong away from home in 2024/25. Only Liverpool (38), Nottingham (33), and Arsenal (32) have collected more points on the road than the AFC (28). In their last 12 PL away games, they have only suffered one defeat (6W, 5D).
In contrast, AFC have won only one of their last seven home games (1W, 5D). A run of five games without defeat (2W, 2D) came to an end on matchday 36 with a 0-1 home defeat to Aston Villa.
Our databases contain just 21 matches between Manchester City and AFC Bournemouth. The Sky Blues have emerged victorious in 19 of those encounters. The Cherries have one win and one draw to their name.
The draw came in a 3-3 away win at the Citizens in the 1988/89 Championship season. And the south coast club celebrated their first and only victory in the first leg of the current season with a 2-1 win at home at Dean Court.
The Skyblues certainly have an almost spotless record against the Cherries. In addition, the Citizens are unbeaten in eight PL games. However, the team currently seems surprisingly weak and listless.
Another slip-up on the last two matchdays cannot be ruled out. In the end, I don’t think the home side will manage more than a narrow victory against an AFC side that is strong away from home.
My Manchester City Bournemouth prediction is therefore: Bournemouth to win with a +2 handicap!
