Manchester City should be wary of facing Bournemouth, says Stuart Pearce
Monday 4 February 2019 14:22, UK
Manchester City should be wary of facing Bournemouth after they beat Chelsea 4-0 on Wednesday, says Stuart Pearce.
City do not play Eddie Howe's side until March 3 and are up against Everton, Chelsea and West Ham in their next three Premier League games, but in analysing their upcoming fixtures, Pearce singled out the trip to the Vitality Stadium.
Former City boss Pearce was at the Cardiff City Stadium to watch Bournemouth lose 2-0 to the Bluebirds on Saturday but says the Cherries are capable of producing a shock result against the champions.
Newcastle stunned City with a 2-1 win on Tuesday, their fourth defeat of the season, before Pep Guardiola's side bounced back with a 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Sunday to narrow the gap to leaders Liverpool.
Bournemouth came close to shock result over City at home last season, leading through Charlie Daniels before Raheem Sterling scored a 97th-minute winner to snatch all three points.
Speaking to Sky Sports News about City's upcoming fixtures, Pearce said: "They've got to go for maximum points, when you consider Liverpool have lost one game.
"Bournemouth away - you never know what they are going to deliver.
"I watched them on Saturday (at Cardiff), they didn't play particularly well, but they beat Chelsea 4-0 at home a couple games before.
"At home, you never know what they're going to deliver."
Pearce said that set-pieces are "absolutely crucial" for any side facing City this season, due to the size and stature of most of their squad.
"They are a small team in nature," Pearce added. "The front six are pretty small, so you don't have a big centre-forward coming into his own penalty box and dealing with it.
"You don't get too many opportunities at Manchester City's goal, so when teams go there, they know that set plays are absolutely crucial."
