rewrite this title Bournemouth v Man City LIVE: Team news with Guardiola to respond to exit reports

Manchester City need a victory tonight – but Andoni Iraola’s ambitious Cherries will hardly offer a walk-over.

Bournemouth have lofty dreams of their own and are targeting a spot in the Europa League. Iraola’s men are unbeaten in 16 matches – a run that goes back to January – which includes high-profile wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.

Adding City to the list of big clubs beaten this year would guarantee the Cherries at least sixth place in the league as well as a place in Europe so they have everything to play for tonight.

When other coaches are asked about Pep Guardiola, and almost invariably describe him as the game’s greatest manager, there’s usually one common compliment. The Catalan made them think about things they didn’t expect. He comes up with plays and tactics they couldn’t have imagined.

However, his allegiance to Manchester City – a “sportswashing” vehicle for the projection of the power of Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates – provokes questions about his legacy beyond the pitch.

The title could slip out of Manchester City’s grasp tonight if they don’t do the business against Bournemouth, after Arsenal scraped their way past Burnley last night to leave them on the brink of glory.

Here’s Miguel Delaney’s report from that potentially decisive result at the Emirates:

Just the single change for Andoni Iraola’s side, and it’s one they’ve been forced to make after Ryan Christie’s red card against Fulham last time out.

Tyler Adams comes in to replace the Scot.

Pep Guardiola has chosen to give Mateo Kovacic his first league start of an injury-maligned season against Bournemouth, joining Rodri in what looks to be a double-pivot.

The decision means Bernardo Silva moves into a more attacking role while Rayan Cherki remains on the bench.

Gianluigi Donnarumma also regains his starting spot after James Trafford played in the FA Cup final.

Man City XI: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri, Kovacic; Silva, Semenyo, Doku; Haaland.

Subs: Trafford, Dias, Reijnders, Stones, Marmoush, Cherki, Gvardiol, Savinho, Foden.

Bournemouth XI: Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Adams, Scott; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson.

Subs: Mandas, Cook, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Diakite, Kluivert, Adli, Unal, Toth.

We’re just a few minutes away from learning tonight’s team news – here’s what we know so far…

Ryan Christie will miss the match after picking up a red card in the win over Fulham. Lewis Cook and Julio Soler are back from injuries and could play a part but right-back Alex Jimenez has been suspended by the club.

Pep Guardiola has a full squad to choose from with Rodri back from injury having played 65 minutes of the FA Cup final last Saturday. Rayan Cherki is expected to start ahead of Omar Marmoush with Gianluigi Donnarumma set to return in goal.

Before any exit for Pep Guardiola, he and City will have another chance to win the Premier League – but they need a win on the south coast tonight to keep their hopes alive.

They trail Arsenal by five points with two games to go and must win both of their remaining matches.

Ahead of tonight’s clash with Bournemouth, Guardiola called on his team to take things to the wire.

“The important thing is to arrive at the end with options,” Guardiola stated. “All we want is to be with our people in the last game to try to fight. To extend for these last four or five days what we have to do is win at Bournemouth.”

When news broke of Pep Guardiola’s potential exit yesterday, Arsenal were preparing for a huge match against Burnley.

They won that 1-0 to keep the destination of the Premier League title in their own hands and Mikel Arteta was asked about Guardiola after the match.

He told Sky Sports: “Once he makes that decision then we can talk about it. Before that, nobody should do it.”