City begin their first season since 2016/17 without Pep Guardiola at the helm, though there is plenty of faith in Maresca, who himself previously served under the Spaniard as an assistant manager.The Italian returns in the top job after an underwhelming spell at Chelsea, and he is tasked with returning City to the summit of the Premier League. He will have to do it the hard way though, with City having lost the likes of Rodri and Bernardo Silva over the summer. The 3-0 loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield comes too soon to cause real worry, but City will have to make a good start to the season to allay fears of wider troubles across the team. As for Bournemouth, they begin a new era of their own under Marco Rose, with the German hoping to build on the foundations laid by Andoni Iraola as he leads the Cherries in their first ever season in Europe. Chris Wilson23 August 2026 12:30Good morningHello and welcome to The Independent’s live blog coverage of Manchester City’s first game of the new Premier League season, against Bournemouth.Enzo Maresca takes charge of City for the first time in a competitive fixture, with the Cityzens looking to bounce back from the dismal 3-0 defeat to Arsenal in the Community Shield last week. As for Bournemouth, the Cherries are also starting a new era, with former Dortmund boss Marco Rose looking to get off to the perfect start with a dream win at the Etihad in his opening game.We’ll have all the latest build-up, team news and updates right here. Chris Wilson23 August 2026 10:00