Man City host Bournemouth in Premier League opener

Photo: Ank kumar / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons

Manchester City open their 2026/27 Premier League campaign against Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday 23 August, with kick-off scheduled for 14:00 UK time. The match will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

The fixture also marks Enzo Maresca's first home league game since taking charge of City, succeeding Pep Guardiola in the Etihad dugout.

Bournemouth are managed by Marco Rose, who has faced City six times in European competition during spells at RB Leipzig and Borussia Mönchengladbach. Rose's Leipzig side drew one and lost three of four meetings with City in the Champions League, while his Mönchengladbach team suffered two 2-0 defeats in the 2020/21 edition.

The sides last met in May 2026, drawing 1-1 at the Vitality Stadium. Junior Kroupi opened the scoring on 39 minutes via a counter-attack, before Erling Haaland smashed home a rebound from a Rodri effort off the post with 90 seconds remaining.

Maresca is scheduled to hold a pre-match press conference on Friday 21 August at 13:30 UK time at the City Football Academy.