City travelled to the coast and advanced past Blackpool to book their place in round three of the Carabao Cup and now make the long journey south to face AFC Bournemouth on Tuesday 8 September (7:45pm KO).
Read all the key stats and information as well as the pre-match thoughts of Tom Shaw and Adam Reach as the Imps travel to face Premier League opposition.
Opposition Information
During an impressive 2025/26 campaign, the Cherries secured Europa League football with a points total of 57 and a sixth-place finish. With former manager Andoni Iraola exiting for Liverpool at the conclusion of the season, German manager, Marco Rose took over in Dorset but has suffered a somewhat disappointing start to the latest campaign, amassing just two points after three games. His side has also earnt themselves an unwanted bit of history by becoming the first Premier League side ever to score first in their opening three fixtures but going on to win none of them.
A shining light so far this season for Bournemouth has been 27-year-old winger, Marcus Tavernier who has netted twice including in their opening day loss to Manchester City as well as most recently when the Cherries travelled to St James’ Park to face Newcastle United and were in control until they were undone late on by a Jacob Ramsey equaliser. Tavernier is heading into his fifth season on the south coast, making 128 appearances and scoring 22 goals during that period.
Incomings have been sparce for Bournemouth with just four new faces entering the building and amongst those latest recruits is Portuguese centre-half, António Silva. He makes the transition to English football after spending four seasons as an established defender in Liga Portugal for footballing giants, Benfica. He’s already cemented himself amongst the Cherries’ backline, playing 90 minutes in all three of their games with a particularly impressive performance in their 1-1 draw with Everton where he made two tackles, six clearances and wasn’t dispossessed throughout the entirety of the game.
Tom Shaw said: “We know plenty about Bournemouth, so we know it's going to be a high-intensity football match with how they play. I’m not quite sure what they’ll do with it. They need a win, so we’ll prepare for everything.”
Mikkel’s first Imps goal
After making his move to Lincolnshire over the summer, the towering figure of Mikkel Ladefoged scored his first goal for City when heading home the equaliser against Southampton. In just his second substitute appearance he got on the end of a well-placed cross from Reeco Hackett and Tom Shaw spoke about his mood following his almost instant impact for the Imps.
He said: “He came in with a big smile on his face, so I’m delighted for Mikkel, it’s an amazing moment for both him and the football club.
“Chris and I don’t really need to encourage him to get around the back post which is where we want our forwards. He seems to be there anyway and knows the type of detail we’ve got around the penalty area but again he’s a natural at it.”
Adam Reach’s Thoughts
Adam Reach was another key player in helping City achieve second-tier status last season, playing in 34 games in all competitions, scoring four goals and providing another five, before missing the conclusion of the season through injury. He has also written his name in the Imps’ history books this season with his goal against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium being the team’s first in the Championship since 1961. Reach spoke about his start to the season as well as the long journey to face AFC Bournemouth in round three of the Carabao Cup.
Reach said: “We’ve gained a lot of confidence from our start because we’ve caused teams problems in every game, particularly Blackburn and Southampton. We obviously got two points from those games, but I think there is a little bit of disappointment that we didn’t come away with more points which I think is a real positive.
“Bournemouth is going to be a good test for us to see where we’re at. We’re looking forward to it, but like every game, we want to win that game, and we want to progress to the next round.”
H2H
The last time City travelled down to the Vitality Stadium was for a League Two fixture in September 2009, almost exactly 17 years ago. It was the Cherries who got the better of the argument on that occasion with Brett Pitman opening the scoring for the home side. It was then Sammy Igoe who doubled their lead, Chris Fagan then scored for the Imps to make it 2-1 and gave the travelling contingent something to celebrate before a second-half strike from Sammy Igoe sealed his brace and his sides victory.
During the 2002/03 season under Keith Alexander, City finished sixth in Division Three despite being tipped for relegation after just recently emerging from administration. In the semi-final against local rivals Scunthorpe United, the Imps progressed 6–3 on aggregate after a thrilling 5-3 success in the home leg. The final was against Tuesday’s opposition, Bournemouth, at the Millennium Stadium in front of 32,148 people and it offered the chance to complete an extraordinary turnaround. City briefly recovered from Steve Fletcher’s opener when Ben Futcher equalised, but the home side led 2–1 at half-time and then ran away with the game after the break. Despite Mark Bailey pulling a goal back it was Bournemouth who earnt promotion by a scoreline of five goals to two.
Match Information
For the second time this season, City will wear their third kit as they travel down to the Vitality Stadium to face AFC Bournemouth - get yours HERE.
The referee in Dorset on Tuesday evening will be Elliot Bell with his assistants being both Andrew Fox and David Harrison with Matt Corlett as the fourth official.
Legendary broadcaster, John Helm will be joined on the south coast by Sam Harbergham to provide the commentary for Imps + - check out your streaming options HERE.
