Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola sends warning to Man City ahead of Premier League clash

Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola insists Manchester City will need to earn any success when they host the Cherries on Saturday.

City have kicked back into form after a minor slump before the October international break. Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last three, including a dominant 3-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.

They are strong favourites to take all three points again on Saturday, when they welcome lowly Bournemouth to the Etihad. Iraola’s side only picked up their first win of the season against Burnley last weekend and were beaten 2-1 by Liverpool in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

But the Spanish manager has seen some positives in recent weeks and insists nothing will come easy for the home side.

“We have to continue improving the last passes in transitions – against Liverpool [in the EFL Cup] we were three against three, three against two, where we didn’t finish with a clear chance,” Iraola said. “In the last third, we need to improve.

“To get a result against these teams at their stadiums, you need them not to have their best day, but this is something we cannot control – we can affect only ourselves and try to not give easy goals or penalties. We need to try to make them earn anything they get.”

Bournemouth have found life incredibly difficult against City in recent years, losing the last 12 meetings and conceding 40 goals in the process. But Iraola is hoping to end that torrid run and believes they can give the treble winners a challenge.

“Obviously, if it hasn’t been done before, it’s because it’s very difficult,” the Bournemouth boss added. “We are playing against, probably, right now, the best team in the world.

“They’ve won a lot of things this past season. But we have to maximise our chances, have a good performance, try to be more clinical and make the game two directions, not only one.”