Pep Guardiola confident Manchester City will beat Bournemouth and strengthen the top five chances

Pep Guardiola is sure Manchester City can bounce off their FA Cup final disappointment and get a spot in the Champions League next season.

City dominated the Crystal Palace game at Wembley, but could not turn ownership into targets as Eberechi Eze’s first-half strike proved decisive.

Yesterday’s action #facup Final 📺 pic.twitter.com/yh4xyjotkl

– Manchester City (@Mancity) May 18, 2025

This means Guardiola’s side will be his first time since the club debuted in 2016-17, although they still have a lot of games to choose from.

Champions League Hope Chelsea and Aston Villa won the weekend, New York City fell to sixth and Nottingham Forest ranked seventh, and they also won.

Bournemouth Games are Very Important

Manchester City’s game will be played tomorrow night when Bournemouth visits Etihad tomorrow night. A win would put them at most third and take one of the top five spots in pole position.

Guardiola is optimistic that his players will step up their efforts when needed.

He said: “If we don’t play in the Champions League, it’s because we shouldn’t have it.

“I think we’re going to qualify. My idea is that I’m going to think about that. If I think that’s the case, I think we think we need two wins or four points to qualify. That’s my goal.”

When asked if he had confidence, he added: “Absolutely.”

The last home game 👑

🤝 #asahisuperdry pic.twitter.com/glkvgf0zf6

– Manchester City (@Mancity) May 18, 2025

Guardiola Coy (De Bruyne) participation

The game will be Kevin de Bruyne’s last appearance at Atihad before setting off at the end of the season.

Belgium played the full game at Wembley and under normal circumstances he was unlikely to compete with Cherries.

But when asked about the 33-year-old, Guardiola hardly gave up.

He added: “We want to win the game so we can qualify for the Champions League next season – that’s what Kevin wants, it’s impossible.

“I will decide we’d better win the best form against Bournemouth, that’s for sure.

“Kevin will get what he deserves, and what he deserves is the best moment and the best compliment for his incredible trajectory.

“Everything he did with other incredible other legends in the club will be impossible since Sheik Mansour took over and operated the club to reach another level.”

Guardiola said he hasn’t had a chance to watch the defender in the FA Cup final, but insists his team has performed well.

“We played a really good final. Not enough to win the game, we had the last two games. We needed four points to get into the Champions League. That’s enough, and everyone has to be aware of that.”

After Bournemouth, Manchester City headed to Fulham on Sunday.