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- Manchester City return to Premier League action this Sunday as they host AFC Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium, kicking off at 2:00pm. It marks the club’s first league fixture of the new season under new boss Enzo Maresca, who takes charge after replacing Pep Guardiola, and all eyes will be on how quickly his side can adapt to his methods after a summer of significant squad turnover.
The build-up hasn’t been entirely smooth. Jérémy Doku is set for a spell on the sidelines after picking up an injury during the Community Shield, robbing City of one of their most direct attacking outlets just as the campaign gets underway. With Savinho now departed in an £85m move to Tottenham and Tijjani Reijnders also having left the club, Maresca will need to lean on the squad depth he does have while his midfield rebuild takes shape in the background.
That rebuild is already in motion. City are reportedly working to accelerate a deal for Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández in the coming days, while names like Roma’s Manu Koné and PSG’s Ayyoub Bouaddi have also been floated as midfield targets. None of that business is likely to be wrapped up by kickoff, though, meaning Sunday’s XI will probably look leaner in midfield than City fans are used to seeing.
Bournemouth, for their part, arrive as a side that has built a reputation for organized, disciplined performances against the league’s bigger clubs, and they’ll fancy their chances of frustrating a City side still finding its feet under a new manager. For City, though, three points at home to open the season is the priority, regardless of how much transfer business is still unfinished. Maresca will be eager to make an early statement, both to his own players and to a fanbase still adjusting to life after Guardiola, that this team can compete no matter who else comes through the door before the window closes.