Manchester United are back in action after their midweek win against Chelsea and once again, Erik Ten Hag’s side will be hosts at Old Trafford. Bournemouth are coming to town after a run of some really good results and here is what you need to know ahead of the Saturday afternoon match.
Team News
There are so many things happening around these two teams in terms of their personnel and who will be out of contention for the match. As for United, Victor Lindelof is out due to an unspecified reason, while Mason Mount is a doubt after missing the previous four matches with a calf problem. Then there are the players who have been out for a while, including those struggling with knee injuries – Tyrell Malacia and Christian Eriksen. Amad Diallo also had the same injury, but he is back in training, although it is hard to see him be in the team for this one. Lisandro Martinez is still out due to a foot injury, Casemiro because of his hamstring, while Marcus Rashford is a doubt after missing a training on Friday due to illness. And of course, Jadon Sancho is also out.
Bournemouth have their problems too. Lloyd Kelly, Max Aarons and Tyler Adams are out of contention because of thigh injuries, Alex Scott due to a knee problem and Ryan Fredericks because of his calf. Darren Randolph is ill, while Emiliano Marcondes is recovering from a foot injury. This is enough to create plenty of problems for Iraola, who will be looking at the likes oMarcus Tavernier, Justin Kluivert and Dominic Solanke to hurt the Devils.
Form Guide
Following their wins against Luton and Everton, Man United’s results were far from great. A disappointing performance in Turkey led to a 3-3 draw against Galatasaray which all but ended United’s hopes of reaching the round of 16 in the Champions League, but even that did not wake up the players who put in a poor performance in Newcastle, in a 1-0 defeat. That was United’s second defeat against the Magpies this season already, but at least there was some reaction afterwards. The Devils showed their grit in the midweek clash against Chelsea, winning 2-1 thanks to goals from Scott McTominay. However, no team won less points than Chelsea in Premier League in 2023 (excluding the relegated and promoted teams), which is maybe a good indicator that this win should not be looked at as a clear sign of things improving drastically. Ten Hag’s side still needs to keep working hard and that will be true on Saturday as well.
The reason for that is that Bournemouth are one of the in-form teams in the league right now. The Cherries are doing so much better since Andoni Iraola took over. After being on a run of five losses in six matches, they started getting some really important results. It all started with a 2-0 win against Newcastle, a Champions League team that is, before beating Sheffield United 3-1 away from home. That was followed by a really good 2-2 draw against Aston Villa, the team that won the second-most points in the Premier League in 2023. They followed that with another win, beating Crystal Palace 2-0 in London. United should not expect an easy match.
Predicted Outcome
Considering everything, this will not be an easy match for the hosts, but we predict Manchester United will beat Bournemouth 1-0. This match could be reminiscent of those wins against Fulham and Luton. While no one is expecting the Devils to play off the pitch any of their opponents, they should be getting the three points here.
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