Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola believes his team can "damage" Manchester City despite their recent struggles against the Premier League champions. City have never lost to Bournemouth in 19 matches, with 13 of those games being in the Premier League since 2015.
City have won all of these encounters, scoring an impressive 44 goals and only letting in seven. They also beat Bournemouth 2-1 in a League Cup match in 2020. The only times Bournemouth managed to draw with City was back in the old Second Division in 1989 and the third tier in 1999.
Pep Guardiola's team are currently on a 16-game unbeaten streak winning 14 of them which goes back to December. "I think it obviously is one of the most difficult games you can play," Iraola said.
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"They are the team with the most possession. You have to be ready, especially mentally, to spend a lot of time without the ball, to be defending lower than we are used to defending."
"To go to the press and get beaten and go to the next one again, and then get beaten and go to the next one with the same intensity and mentality."
"To be ready to wait for your moment. Wait for your chance, because also I think we can damage them. But it's obviously a very difficult game in a lot of areas."
Bournemouth haven't won a league game in their last six attempts, but Iraola is feeling positive about his team's chances after they drew 2-2 with Newcastle last time out with only a late Matt Ritchie goal stopping them from winning their first league game since Boxing Day.
"I think the Newcastle game, it was one of the best
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