Manchester United -v- Bournemouth
Premier League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday 4 July 2020, KO 15:00 BST
Referee: Mike Dean Assistants: Simon Bennett, Darren Cann Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Lee Mason Assistant VAR: Adrian Holmes
Replacement Official: Paul Hodskinson
Manchester United face Bournemouth in the Premier League at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon in a traditional 3pm kick off. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be pleased with his squad at this stage of the season with all still to play for. Bruno Fernandes has literally changed United’s playing style since arriving in January with Paul Pogba working well with him. Chelsea will be looking over their shoulders this weekend, as will Leicester City, who has dropped in form considerably.
Bournemouth have fallen this season and could well be relegated from the Premier League, which is what they deserve when you look at their form. In the last six matches, they have lost five and drawn one and their last victory goes back to the 1 February. United need to hit them hard and ruin their season, keeping United’s alive with everything to play for. The UEFA Champions League is still on the table for United, and if they make the top four, will still have a chance winning the Europa League.
Form: United unbeaten in 15 matches with their form starting to go through the roof with Bournemouth losing five and drawing one of their last six matches. Relegation on the way for the Cherries?
Manchester United: WWWDWW
Brighton and Hove Albion 3-0 W, Norwich City 2-1 W, Sheffield United 3-0 W, Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 D, LASK 5-0 W, Manchester City 2-0 W
Bournemouth: LLLLDL
Newcastle United 4-1 L, Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 L, Crystal Palace 2-0 L, Liverpool 2-1 L, Chelsea 2-2 D, Burnley 3-0 L
Top Scorers: Martial, Rashford, Greenwood and Fernandes have scored 57 goals for United in all competitions this season with Bournemouth scoring just 34 goals.
Manchester United Goals: 19 – Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, 13 – Mason Greenwood, 6 – Bruno Fernandes, 5 – Odion Ighalo, Scott McTominay, 4 – Daniel James, 3 – Harry Maguire, Juan Mata, 2 – Fred, Own Goal, Jesse Lingard, Andreas Pereira, 1 – Diogo Dalot, Phil Jones, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Luke Shaw, Brandon Williams, Ashley Young
United are unbeaten in 15 matches, scoring 38 goals, conceding four times, keeping 11 clean sheets and driving forward in their bid to reach the top four of the Premier League. United were given a chance to break into the top four after Chelsea lost to West Ham United on Wednesday evening, so beating Bournemouth could be the start of something good. Although, Leicester City’s demise could help United too.
Bournemouth Goals: 9 – Callum Wilson, 7 – Harry Wilson, 4 – Joshua King, 3 – Philip Billing, Dan Gosling, 2 – Nathan Aké, 1 – Steve Cook, Ryan Fraser, Jefferson Lerma, Chris Mepham, Dominic Solanke, Sam Surridge
Bournemouth are not in a good place at this present time. They are nineteenth in the Premier League, albeit six points clear of bottom club Norwich City and a point from safety, although it is not really safe their either. In the three matches played since Project Restart, they have not won a single match, conceding seven goals and scoring just one. You would have to go back to the 1 February to see them last win a match.
Team News: Two players missing from United due to injury with three missing for Bournemouth; two injured and one suspended.
Solskjaer looks set to once again be without Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones for the visit of Bournemouth to the Theatre of Dreams. It does not look as if there were any injuries after the 3-0 victory over Brighton on Tuesday evening but this will be confirmed when Solskjaer holds his press conference on Friday morning, which will be broadcast live on MUTV.
Bournemouth will be without Simon Francis and Charlie Daniels who have both been ruled out due to knee injuries and Callum Wilson, who has amassed 10 yellow cards so far this season and will be suspended for the trip to Manchester. This could be a big blow to Bournemouth who desperately need to end their poor form so they can avert relegation.
Predicted Starting XI: Solskjaer to keep trusting Martial, Rashford, Fernandes and Greenwood as attackers and Pogba and Matic in midfield against Bournemouth?
I don’t think Solskjaer will make many changes to the team which beat Brighton earlier this week. Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood will drive United forward, supported by Paul Pogba and Nemanja Matic in the midfield. Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Luke Shaw will keep their places at fullback, Harry Maguire will be partnered with Eric Bailly, the only change in the lineup with David De Gea in goal against the Cherries.
Match Prediction: United need to avenge defeat to Bournemouth back in November and their current form suggests that the fight has gone and United will keep their chances of a top four finish this season.
United and Bournemouth have played nine times in the Premier League with United winning six, drawing once and losing twice. In total, United have scored 17 goals conceding eight. Both United have kept two clean sheets with Bournemouth keeping one. United have been awarded one penalty, failing to score it, with Bournemouth awarded one and scoring it. In total, United have received 16 yellow cards and one red. Bournemouth have received 17 yellow cards and one red card.
Back in November 2019, Bournemouth beat United 1-0 at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League, which is something that Solskjaer will need to avenge. However, United are in much better for at this moment in time with a 15-match unbeaten run, scoring 38 goals, conceding four times, keeping 11 clean sheets. Bournemouth will not be happy to visit the Theatre of Dreams with United in this kind of form, which could be just another sign of their relegation this season.
Manchester United 3-0 Bournemouth
