Early team news: Three Academy players involved in Bournemouth vs Manchester City (Premier League)

Manchester City will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the ongoing Premier League season with a contest against an in-form Bournemouth side this weekend.

Pep Guardiola and his players will wanting to see an immediate reaction to their 2-1 defeat to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup fourth round on Wednesday night, despite the challenging injury situation they find themselves in.

Despite the exit from the League Cup early in the competition, City remain high-flyers in the English top-flight, finding themselves top of the division by one point clear of Liverpool, and five points away from Arsenal after a 1-0 win over Southampton last weekend.

Bournemouth have put together some stellar performances of their own this season including a 2-0 home win over Arsenal, despite inconsistencies in terms of results with three wins, three draws, and three defeats to begin their campaign.

Overviews of City’s injuries have become more complicated as the weeks pass by but the latest sees Rodri and Oscar Bobb continuing to be sidelined with Kyle Walker, Kevin De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, and Jack Grealish not expected to return until after the international break.

Manuel Akanji indicated after his withdrawal from the clash against Tottenham that he had sustained a groin concern but was hopeful of being available this weekend, whilst Savinho avoided serious injury despite being stretchered off and a decision will be made today.

Josko Gvardiol and Ruben Dias have minor issues to contend with, despite the former being attended to by Manchester City medical staff on the field and after the full-time whistle on Wednesday night.

Ahead of the confirmed team news from the Vitality Stadium this weekend, some initial information has began to filter throughout social media from journalists and sources regarding Manchester City’s starting line-up.

According to official team news released by Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad on Friday night, all of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Jacob Wright, and Nico O’Reilly were absent from the Under-21s’ Premier League 2 clash against Norwich City.

Farid Alfa-Ruprecht returned to the fray follow his involvement with Manchester City’s senior squad in London for the Carabao Cup fourth round clash against Tottenham, while the absence of the aforementioned trio would indicate first-team involvement on the south coast.

As per the information of reputable early team news sources FPLMaineRoad on X, Manchester City’s captain Kyle Walker has returned to matchday duties by travelling to Bournemouth with the squad after recovering from a knee issue sustained during the last international break.

On the social media front and assumptions that could be made, Jeremy Doku uploaded a matchday poster to his Instagram story potentially pointing towards some involvement this weekend despite originally being ruled out until after the international break.

Andoni Iraola and Pep Guardiola are expected to confirmed their respective AFC Bournemouth and Manchester City starting line-ups around 13:45 (UK) on Saturday afternoon.

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