Maresca’s Era Begins: Manchester City vs Bournemouth Preview
A new voice stands in the Etihad dugout on Sunday. After a decade of Pep Guardiola’s dominance, it is Enzo Maresca who leads Manchester City into their first Premier League game of the season, at home to Bournemouth.
The Community Shield defeat to Arsenal was a jolt, an early reminder that life after Guardiola will not be granted on reputation alone. This, though, is where the real judgement starts. Three points, a statement, and a sense that the machine still hums without its architect.
Doku out, Grealish in the spotlight
Maresca’s first league lineup comes with problems on the flanks. Jeremy Doku is out after aggravating a calf injury in that loss to Arsenal and will miss the next two to three weeks. Savinho will not be involved either, with his move to Tottenham Hotspur edging towards completion, and Omar Marmoush is expected to be in a similar position if his own transfer to north London is finalised in time.
Those absences push Jack Grealish centre stage. The England international finished the Community Shield on the left and is set to start there against Bournemouth, asked to provide control and incision where Doku usually brings chaos and direct running.
On the opposite flank, Antoine Semenyo faces his former club. Signed from Bournemouth in January, he offers power and vertical threat on the right, giving City a different profile to the wide-men of the Guardiola era.
New pieces, familiar fulcrum
In midfield, the focus sharpens on Elliot Anderson. A big-money summer arrival, he continues alongside Mateo Kovačić in the double pivot as City look to bed in one of their most significant signings. That partnership will be tasked with knitting together Maresca’s structure and feeding the front four.
Behind them, there is a notable tweak. Matheus Nunes returns after missing the Community Shield with a minor muscle issue and is in contention to start at right-back, potentially displacing Abdukodir Khusanov. It is a bold call, but one that fits Maresca’s preference for technical full-backs stepping into midfield.
The rest of the back line carries a more familiar weight. Gianluigi Donnarumma continues in goal, protected by a central pairing of Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol, with Nico O’Reilly at left-back. It is a back four built to dominate territory as much as duels.
And then there is Erling Haaland.
Whatever has changed around him, City’s attack still orbits the Norwegian. His record on opening weekends is absurd: seven goals in his last four Premier League curtain-raisers. Across his career, he has scored 22 times in just 14 August appearances. Systems can shift, shapes can evolve, but Haaland offers Maresca the same ruthless certainty he gave Guardiola.
Phil Foden will operate just behind him, retained in the central role he occupied at Wembley. If Maresca wants his side to play through the lines quickly and aggressively, there are few better players to trust between midfield and attack.
Predicted Manchester City XI
Maresca is expected to set City up in a 4-2-3-1:
Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Anderson, Kovačić; Semenyo, Foden, Grealish; Haaland.
Kick-off time and TV details
Manchester City vs Bournemouth kicks off at 14:00 BST on Sunday, 23 August 2026 at the Etihad Stadium.
In the UK, the game will be shown live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.
A new manager, a familiar title expectation, and a fanbase waiting to see if the next chapter can match the last. The first answers arrive on Sunday afternoon.
