With Pep Guardiola having departed the club along with senior players such as Rodri and Bernardo Silva, to name two, the hosts will have a different look about them as they step out at the Etihad Stadium.
Not even a point for Bournemouth against Man City
Fans of the club will be hoping for a much better performance than that which they showed in the Community Shield, when they were dismantled 3-0 by a confident Arsenal side.
Indeed, pre-season hasn't been good to Enzo Maresca and Co., as the Cityzens also failed to beat both Aston Villa and Inter.
However, they couldn't have asked for a better opponent for the first match of the 2026/27 season.
That's because the Cherries haven't left the blue side of Manchester with even so much as a point from their nine previous fixtures.
Six goals scored and 34 conceded in those games by the away side set the scene, with those goals scored by City being the highest average they have against any visitor when playing at the Etihad.
English Premier League
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Both teams have new managers
Bournemouth also have a new manager after Andoni Iraola left for Liverpool, though Marco Rose has history against him as the four previous managers before him who debuted with a fixture against Man City didn't win.
Calum McFarlane was the last, for Chelsea in 2025/26, though he at least saw his team emerge with a creditable 1-1 draw.
City have also won 14 of the last 15 opening-day games, losing the other to Tottenham in 2021/22, whilst the Cherries have won only two of their nine, against Cardiff in 2018/19 and Aston Villa in 2022/23.
Perhaps the biggest test for Rose is that his side are currently on the longest unbeaten run in the Premier League, given that Iraola didn't lose any of his final 18 Premier League games last season (D10, W8).
City can't underestimate the Cherries
It's just the second time in EPL history that a manager will be making their debut in the dugout at a team on an unbeaten run of 15+ games, with Luis Felipe Scolari's opening game at Chelsea in 2008 coming on the back of a 21-match streak.
City should be aware, however, that the 49-year-old had RB Leipzig at the top of the Bundesliga charts for direct attacks (192) during his time at the club (September 2022 - March 2025), and they were joint-top for direct attack goals (20).
Bournemouth were actually the best in the Premier League last season for direct attacks (83) and direct attack goals (six), too.
The hosts haven't lost back-to-back games at home in the league since 2021, and only lost two matches at the Etihad last season; their first, which was a 2-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and their last, which was a 2-1 loss to Villa.
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Semenyo and Haaland a threat
Antoine Semenyo found the net on the opening day of the last two Premier League campaigns, and could make it a hat-trick if he were to do so in Sunday's game.
If he did manage to open his account, he'd become just the eighth player to both score for and against the same club, with only John Hartson doing so in consecutive seasons (1996/97 against West Ham, and 1997/98 for the East Londoners).
Semenyo's attacking colleague, Erling Haaland, will surely fancy his chances of getting off the mark, too, given that he already has 22 goals in 14 games played in the month of August.
Matheus Nunes and Jeremy Doku are only rated at 25% fit for this game so will face a late fitness test, and with Tottenham interested in a double swoop for Savinho and Omar Marmoush, it remains to be seen if either will play any part on Sunday.
The Cherries are struggling on the injury front, with Eli Kroupi, Julian Araujo, Amine Adli, Ryan Christie and Veljko Milosavljevic all out, whilst Juanlu Sanchez, Alvaro Rodriguez, David Brooks and Julio Soler will all face late fitness tests to determine their availability.
Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.
