This is a Manchester City predicted lineup for their FA Cup clash with Bournemouth. With this being the last competition that the team can feasibly win this season it will be interesting to see whether Pep Guardiola goes all out or rotates a little to keep his key players fresh for the league. This is certain to be a tough clash against a Cherries side who already boast a win over Guardiola’s side in the league in this term.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup vs Bournemouth in FA Cup Tie
How Manchester City Have Lined Up Recently
Ederson has usually started in goal but Stefan Ortega came in against Brighton with a defensive lineup of Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Abdukodir Khusanov, Nathan Ake when fit, and either Rico Lewis or Matheus Nunes at right-back. In midfield, Nico Gonzalez has been the deepest sitting player either partnered by Ilkay Gundogan or playing as more of a lone player to allow two players to operate around the box.
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The midfielders ahead of him are usually Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, Kevin de Bruyne, Savio, Phil Foden, or Omar Marmoush with two out wide and either one through the middle or two. Erling Haaland is the go-to striker for the squad.
Manchester City Recent Form & Tactics
Guardiola has mainly used either a 4-2-3-1 formation or a 4-1-4-1 as his base. It’s fluid in possession like most top teams nowadays but that change in midfield can be a key one, with the latter allowing them to dominate possession in attacking areas a bit more, but leaving them more prone on the counter.
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This has shown itself on the scoresheet with a loss to Nottingham Forest and a 2-2 draw with the Seagulls, both of whom are strong at pressing and springing a counterattack. The Cityzens have lost three of their last five and have issues keeping the ball out of their own net, with only one clean sheet in that timeframe, in fact they’ve only kept a handful in all of 2025.
Manchester City Injuries to Consider
Per PremierInjuries there are six absentees for the team to contend with. Oscar Bobb, Rodri, Ake, John Stones, and Manuel Akanji are all guaranteed to miss out with Ederson also on there after missing out the last match before the international break. Despite that, he has been training in recent days so could be in line for a return to the lineup.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup
GK – Stefan Ortega
LB – Josko Gvardiol
CB – Vitor Reis
CB – Ruben Dias
RB – Rico Lewis
DM – Mateo Kovacic
DM – Nico O’Reilly
W – Jack Grealish
AM – Bernardo Silva
W – Savio
ST – Erling Haaland
