Manchester City will be hoping to maintain their recent upturn in form when they visit the Vitality Stadium to take on Bournemouth on Monday night.

Pep Guardiola's side have climbed back into the top four courtesy of successive wins, and they face a Bournemouth team increasingly in danger of being dragged into a relegation battle.

Bournemouth

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It says a great deal about Bournemouth's recent form that chairman Jeff Mostyn felt it necessary to declare his backing for manager Eddie Howe earlier this week.

Howe's heroics in steering the Cherries from the bottom of the English football pyramid to the top flight have placed him close to 'unsackable' territory, but doubts have begun to creep in in recent weeks as his side have slipped down the Premier League table.

Bournemouth still enjoy a six-point cushion to the bottom three and are by no means the team in most danger of suffering relegation, but with the improved form of the likes of Swansea City, Hull City and Sunderland in recent weeks, that safety gap could be eaten up very quickly if the Cherries don't turn their own form around sooner rather than later.

Howe's side are still searching for their first win of 2017 having lost four and drawn two of their six outings since the turn of the year - a run which has seen them eliminated from the FA Cup in addition to their league struggles.

Perhaps the biggest concern from their recent form is the ease with which they are conceding goals, with Bournemouth's defence having been breached 19 times since the turn of the year - an average of more than three per game.

Things were particularly bad last weekend as Bournemouth found themselves three goals down to Everton inside half an hour before conceding another three in the final 10 minutes on their way to a 6-3 defeat at Goodison Park - a thriller for most but a horror show for Howe.

Only Swansea have now conceded more goals in the Premier League this season, and Bournemouth will not be holding out much hope of closing the floodgates on Monday considering they have let in four or more in their last three top-flight games against City. The last team to do that in four consecutive top-flight matches against an opponent was Watford against Everton between 1984 and 1985.

By the time they kick off against Man City on Monday it will have been a month since Bournemouth's last home victory, and they are in danger of going five Premier League matches without a win at Dean Court for only the second time.

However, they have been better in front of their own fans overall this season and have an impressive home record when the big teams come to visit, with victories over Everton and Liverpool in addition to draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal already this term.

This will be Bournemouth's fourth Premier League game on a Monday, and they have lost each of their past three without even scoring a goal, whereas City have won 10 of their last 13.

Recent form: WDLDLL
Recent form (all competitions): DLLDLL

Man City

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It wasn't too long ago that Man City's season threatened to unravel following a heavy defeat to Everton - as Bournemouth's could be on the verge of doing - but Guardiola has since managed to turn things around.

A draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur was a satisfactory response to their drubbing at Goodison Park, while City backed that up with victories over Crystal Palace in the FA Cup and West Ham United and Swansea City in the Premier League.

January arrival Gabriel Jesus has been the saviour in recent weeks, with three goals and an assist in his two Premier League starts so far - including a match-winning brace against Swansea last weekend which lifted City back into the top four for the first time since the start of January.

Another victory on Monday would make it City's best run since their perfect start of 10 wins from 10 under Guardiola, but they could begin the match back outside the Champions League places should Liverpool and Arsenal both win on Saturday.

Guardiola ruled his side out of the title race long ago and, with a 10-point gap to leaders Chelsea, the top four is now their most realistic domestic goal this season, although the Spaniard may also have one eye on the Champions League, which returns later this month.

City got to the semi-finals of the competition last season, while Guardiola has already won it twice as a manager and will be desperate to put his name alongside Bob Paisley and Carlo Ancelotti as the only three-time winners of the competition.

It may be the holy grail for the owners, but for now City's main focus must be on ensuring that they are in the competition next season and, with this being their final Premier League game of February due to their FA Cup involvement next weekend and the Manchester derby being rescheduled because of the EFL Cup final, they will be keen to avoid a slip-up that their top-six rivals could pounce upon in their absence.

City have lost three of their last five Premier League away games, but still only Chelsea have amassed more points on the road this season and, following their 4-0 drubbing of West Ham earlier this month, they are looking for back-to-back league wins on the road for the first time since November.

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Recent form (all competitions): WLDWWW

Team News

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Sergio Aguero is set to start on the bench for the third consecutive match due to the form of Jesus, who is bidding to become only the third Man City player to score in each of his first three Premier League starts for the club.

Fernandinho was deployed at right-back against Swansea and could continue in that position despite Pablo Zabaleta and Bacary Sagna both being fit to start.

Wilfredo Caballero is also expected to continue in goal in place of the dropped Claudio Bravo, but Guardiola could hand Vincent Kompany his first Premier League start since November and only his third of the season.

Bournemouth, meanwhile, could be without defensive duo Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis, with both due to undergo late fitness tests having picked up knee and hamstring injuries respectively.

Adam Smith is also a doubt with a knock, while Callum Wilson has been ruled out for the rest of the season having ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in training.

Josh King started up front in place of the striker last weekend and should keep his spot having scored twice in the defeat to Everton.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Boruc; Smith, Francis, Cook, Mings; Arter, Surman, Fraser, Wilshere, Pugh; King

Man City possible starting lineup:
Caballero; Fernandinho, Stones, Kompany, Clichy; De Bruyne, Toure, Silva; Sterling, Jesus, Sane

Head To Head

Bournemouth are still looking for their first ever victory over Manchester City having lost seven and drawn two of the nine previous meetings between the clubs.

In the Premier League, City have won three out of three games against the Cherries, scoring 13 goals in the process and conceding just one. Should City hit four past Bournemouth - as they have in each of those three meetings - then they would equal the Premier League record for most goals scored in the first four meetings with an opponent, currently held by Manchester United against Bradford City (17).

The reverse fixture in September ended in a 4-0 victory for City at the Etihad Stadium, which was also the scoreline the last time the Citizens visited Dean Court in April 2016, prolonging Bournemouth's wait for a first ever home goal against the Manchester club.

We say: Bournemouth 1-3 Man City

Bournemouth are in dreadful form at the moment and are conceding goals at an alarming rate, while City seem to finally be finding their feet again under Guardiola and boast a dangerous and youthful attacking trio which could cause the hosts all sorts of problems. We're going for a relatively comfortable away win.

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