Pep Guardiola says City love to play every three days just as much as they enjoy the opportunity for a break.

City have had a rare midweek without a match since last Sunday’s derby demolition of Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Now, his side are ready to face Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.

City v Bournemouth | Match preview

However, Guardiola refused to be drawn on whether a few days without playing will help his players against Andoni Iraola’s team.

“I will tell you tomorrow at 4.45,” he said.

“We love to play every three days but it’s nice to have a break and have one or two days off. Rejuvenated.

“It is what it is. We don’t complain when we have a lot of games in a row and we don’t complain when we have time off.”

Iraola’s Bournemouth side sit in 17th in the Premier League with six points from their first 10 games after registering their first win of the campaign against Burnley last weekend.

The Cherries manager enjoys an excellent reputation in his native Spain after three years with Madrid club Rayo Vallecano.

For those reasons, Guardiola expects a tough test this weekend.

“After the first win they are confident. They competed well against Liverpool,” he said.

“Andoni is incredibly well respected in Spain and did a great job at Rayo Vallecano.

“They have good spirit and they do not sit back. Result gives confidence.”

City v Bournemouth app coverage

Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from Manchester in one place.

Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, while our Matchday Live show will begin at 14:00 (UK).

Joleon Lescott, Keith Curle and Steve Howey will be special guests on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight at half-time and in greater detail after the final whistle.

They will also answer viewer questions throughout the broadcast, with audience participation actively encouraged on Matchday Live. To get in touch, send a WhatsApp to: +447537186538.

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During the game you can listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison while our text commentary continues.

Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.

Short highlights from the match will be published at 19:00 (UK) before extended highlights and a full-match replay [available on CITY+] will be made available at midnight.