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manchester city boss pep guardiola He believes Bournemouth’s early season form shows strength in depth Premier League,
bournemouth They go to the Etihad Stadium on Sunday two points above City in the table – second, four points behind leaders Arsenal – after losing only one of their opening nine matches.
Sunderland are also in the top four after an excellent start to promotion, with a new form at the top of the table supporting the argument that the concept of the so-called ‘Big Six’ has become increasingly outdated.
“I remember when I was in Munich or Barcelona, I always heard rumors that everyone in England could beat everyone, I always had that feeling,” Guardiola said.
“Maybe Liverpool and we have changed that dynamic in the past because we were so consistent in terms of points and getting close to 100 points, with 90, 90, 90 points every season.
“But, I think the Premier League has always been like that, all the teams can beat each other, it’s good.
“At certain points like the NBA, there hasn’t been a dominant team in the last four or five or six years, there’s always a different team and everybody can beat everybody.
“I think for the spectators and the Premier League show, it’s really great.”
City have won all eight of their previous Premier League meetings with Bournemouth at home, scoring 31 goals and conceding just five, but that record could face a stern test on Sunday.
Bournemouth’s excellent start came despite losing several key players in a busy summer managed by Andoni Iorla, as Dean Huijsen was sold to Real Madrid, Ilya Zbarnyi to Paris Saint-Germain, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool and Django Ouattara to Brentford.
“It (shows) how coordinated they are with the sporting director, the manager, the players, with a clear philosophy that doesn’t change,” Guardiola said.
“Players change a lot of things but it’s impressive when you lose three or four out of the last four to PSG, Real Madrid and Liverpool and you re-invest in the team with new players. There’s a lot of good work behind (the scenes).
Asked how far Bournemouth can go this season, Guardiola said: “It’s a question for Irola. I would say it’s just nine games but even last season, they are consistent. The team, the manager, the players, a difficult opponent, but we know that.”
Guardiola said the top scorer erling holland The Spain midfielder will be fit after suffering a late injury in the 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa last weekend rodri He could play a role as he tries to recover from the muscle injury that kept him out before the last international break.
“I think he will be ready to help, I don’t know from the beginning, but hopefully he can stay with us,” Guardiola said.
“He has been out a few times and we know how important he is to us.”