There is a trip to Wembley Stadium on the line when Bournemouth host Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

When making predictions for how the season would pan out, not many would have forecasted City would be well out of the Premier League title race and the Champions League by the time the March international break came around.

But coming into the run-in, City are in fifth in the table, well adrift of runaway leaders Liverpool, and the FA Cup is now their only chance of salvaging some silverware from this campaign.

Of the eight quarter-finalists, City are seen as the favourites. After all, they have won the competition twice under Pep Guardiola.

However, they will face a stern test at the Vitality Stadium.

A trip to the Vitality Stadium for our #FACup quarter-final 

#AsahiSuperDry pic.twitter.com/Gh8JN2OnPg

— Manchester City (@ManCity) March 26, 2025

The Cherries looked well set to push for Champions League qualification earlier this season, though Andoni Iraola's team have dipped of late.

They have lost three of their last four Premier League matches, and in the one draw in that run, they threw away a 2-0 lead against Tottenham.

That sequence has left them in 10th, though such is the congested nature of the race for Europe, they are only four points behind City, and on their day, Bournemouth have already proved they are capable of giving any team a game.

With the chance to claim a spot in the FA Cup semi-finals for the first time in their history, the Cherries will surely be up for this one. Here, we dive into some of the key numbers ahead of Sunday's clash.

What's expected?

Bournemouth have already beaten City once this season, with a 2-1 win at the Vitality Stadium in November bringing up their first ever triumph against the Citizens in all competitions.

In 21 previous meetings, City had won 19, with the other two fixtures drawn.

This will be the first ever FA Cup meeting between Bournemouth and City, though.

It is just the third time Bournemouth have faced the reigning English champions in the competition. On both previous occasions, they lost: March 1957 (1-2 v Manchester United) and January 1961 (0-1 v Burnley).

While Man City are made the slight favourites, Opta's model is forecasting a tight encounter.

Guardiola's team came out on top in 43.2% of the pre-match data-led sims, while Bournemouth won 31.5%.

There is a good chance of this match finishing level, at 25.3%, so do not be surprised if this tie goes the distance to penalties.

Bournemouth wanting a cherry on the cake

Whatever happens in the run-in, whether they go on to secure European qualification via the league or not, it has been a brilliant season for Bournemouth.

Indeed, the Cherries may well struggle to hold onto coach Iraola in the off-season, such has been the excellent job he has done over his time in charge.

And they have the chance to cap off what has already been a fine campaign with a trip to Wembley.

And who knows, it could be even more if they do indeed manage to knock City out. There is no reason why Bournemouth should fear any of the teams left in the competition.

Bournemouth have scored eight goals in three FA Cup matches this season, while registering 8.94 expected goals; of teams left in the tournament, only City boast higher figures in either metric (13 and 12.95).

The Cherries have an xG against of 2.42, having conceded twice from six shots on target faced – of the teams left in the competition, only City have faced as few shots on target.

This is just Bournemouth’s third appearance in the FA Cup quarter-finals, with the Cherries losing 2-1 against Manchester United in 1956-57 and 3-0 against Southampton in 2020-21.

Bournemouth have progressed from their last two FA Cup ties against top-flight opponents (against Everton and Wolves in this season’s fourth and fifth rounds), as many as they had in their previous 17 such ties.

Last chance at glory

City, beaten finalists last season, have won the FA Cup twice under Guardiola, in 2018-19 and 2022-23.

They have won their last 14 away games in the competition, scoring 40 goals and conceding 10. Their last defeat on the road came at Wigan Athletic in February 2018, with their last four FA Cup losses coming at Wembley Stadium.

City have won their last seven FA Cup quarter-final ties, with these coming in the last eight campaigns (exception being 2017-18).

Their run of reaching the semi-final in six consecutive campaigns is already a record in the competition.

They made hard work of beating Plymouth Argyle in the fifth round but got over the line eventually and are the only team of the traditional 'big six' left in the competition.

City have endured a season to forget, but they have the chance to salvage silverware from it, even though Guardiola has insisted his team deserve no form of "bonus" for their efforts this term (albeit, that was in relation to potential prize money from the Club World Cup).

Of the teams to have reached the quarter-finals, City have generated the highest xG (12.95), scored the most goals (13), had the most shots (73), shots on target (29) and boast the best shot conversion rate (17.81%).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Bournemouth – Antoine Semenyo

Semenyo netted in Bournemouth's win over Man City earlier in the season, and he is certainly one to watch in this tie.

The winger has had 14 shots in the FA Cup this season, with half of these coming in Bournemouth’s fifth-round tie against Wolves. Only Luke Molyneux (19) has had more shots in the competition proper this term.

Semenyo is on nine goals in all competitions, having also added five assists. He scored in a 5-1 win over West Brom in round three and in a 2-0 win at Everton in the fourth round.

Manchester City – Kevin De Bruyne

De Bruyne scored and assisted in City's win over Plymouth, and the Belgian has been involved in 13 goals in his last 10 appearances in the FA Cup (three goals, 10 assists).

Indeed, across his entire FA Cup career for City, De Bruyne is on 28 goal contributions (10 goals, 18 assists) in 32 appearances.

Since he signed for City in 2015, De Bruyne has contributed to more FA Cup goals than any other player, with Tottenham's Son Heung-min next up on 26.