Manchester will have a clearer picture of their position in the title race come 5pm but the Blues could be five points off Arsenal when they kick-off at Bournemouth this evening.
Consecutive draws against Nottingham Forest and RB Leipzig in the past week have seen City twice throw away one-goal leads, with the Gunners handed the impetus thanks to their win against Aston Villa and able to pull five points clear with victory at Leicester City.
That being said, defeat at the King Power would hand Pep Guardiola's side the chance to go top and the City boss will be taking his side to the South Coast with that in mind.
ALSO READ: How City should line up vs Bournemouth
Bournemouth picked up a crucial 1-0 win at Wolves last weekend to take the club out of the relegation zone, having previously won just one of their last 13 in the league, and were thumped 4-0 at the Etihad in the second week of the season.
Chris Sutton (BBC)
"Manchester City were not ruthless enough in their two other away games this week, which saw them draw with Forest and RB Leipzig, but I have a feeling things will be different this time.
"City cannot afford another slip-up in the league because if they drop any more points and Arsenal win then the gap grows again and wipes out the work they did when they won at Emirates Stadium this month.
"I don't see Pep Guardiola's side coming up short here, though. Bournemouth have been really stubborn in the past few weeks and will make this competitive, but I am backing City to take their chances and get back among the goals."
Sutton's prediction: Bournemouth 1-4 City
Paul Merson (Sportskeeda)
"I think Bournemouth did very well last weekend against Wolverhampton Wanderers. But I also think this is a bad game for Bournemouth.
"They've done well in their last two games. Yet another wow-factor result could be of massive help to them as these results help in dragging other teams down towards the drop zone.
"Manchester City have an extraordinary squad. I will keep on saying it and I will again - they have to win the Champions League.
"If they've gone and signed Erling Haaland for that kind of money and not won the Champions League, I don't think just winning the Premier League equates to success. However, I expect them to go out and get a pretty routine win this weekend as they will not want to lose any more ground to Arsenal."
Merson's Prediction: Bournemouth 0-4 City
Mark Lawrenson (PaddyPower)
"Manchester City are still not looking that convincing and they drew 1-1 again against RB Leipzig in the Champions League during the week. I can see them creating as many chances as they did against Forest here, I just can’t see them missing as many."
Lawrenson's prediction: Bournemouth 0-3 City
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