Jeremy Doku and Savinho omitted from Manchester City squad for Matchday 1 vs Bournemouth

Manchester City hosted Bournemouth at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday, August 23, 2026, in a Matchday 1 English Premier League fixture, and wingers Jeremy Doku and Savinho were absent from the club’s matchday squad. Enzo Maresca named a strong side for his league debut, but both players were missing from the starting XI and the bench.

Maresca’s selected XI featured Phil Foden on the left and Antoine Semenyo on the right, with Erling Haaland deployed as the centre-forward. British record signing Elliot Anderson started in midfield alongside Nico O’Reilly and Rico Lewis. Marc Guehi and Ruben Dias paired at centre-back, while Josko Gvardiol and Abdukodir Khusanov occupied the full-back positions.

Belgian winger Jeremy Doku was ruled out of the match due to a calf injury. Doku was withdrawn at half-time during the FA Community Shield final against Arsenal, and Maresca confirmed that he would miss the upcoming game. “Unfortunately, in the last game, at half-time, he was complaining about a little bit of pain in his calf,” the City head coach said. “The idea with him was to play 45 minutes anyway, so the change was planned, but at the moment it looks like two or three weeks, no more than that.”

Savinho was absent from the squad because of an unspecified illness. The Brazilian winger is set to complete his move to Tottenham Hotspur, so it appears he has played his last game for Manchester City. Omar Marmoush, who is also linked with a move to Spurs, was named on the bench.

The Matchday 1 fixture was scheduled for Sunday, August 23, 2026; in India the match will kick off at 6:30 PM IST and takes place at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England.