Man Utd vs Bournemouth tips and predictions: Reds not out of the woods as tough Cherries test awaits
- George Dempsey
- 8 December 2023
Manchester United have been in better form of late but they still have questions to answer against a rapidly improving Bournemouth side at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
Manchester United may feel they’re back on track having won four of five in the Premier League, but soft displays against Newcastle and Galatasaray say otherwise.
Erik ten Hag’s side made fairly light work of Fulham, Luton and Everton, although arguably there was an element of fortune about the win at Goodison Park.
The scoreline suggests they made hard work of beating Chelsea 2-1 at Old Trafford but credit where it’s due, the Reds racked up nearly 4 expected goals and should have added to Scott McTominay's brace.
Bournemouth have spent much of the season looking disjointed while trying to take to Andoni Iraola’s philosophy of how to play the beautiful game.
It was an ugly affair for most of the season but suddenly the Cherries are starting to blossom.
Antoine Semenyo spoke at the weekend about the challenge of understanding what’s being asked of them and putting it into action, but the squad feels it’s starting to become second nature.
A 2-0 win against Newcastle and a 2-2 draw with Aston Villa have been well-supplemented by a pair of road wins over Sheffield United and Crystal Palace.
One of the most notable improvements is that Iraola’s previous blunt attacks look like scoring every time they bomb forward.
Ten Hag’s men have struggled against the press this season and the visitors will approach the game without fear, so we’re confident they’ll find the net at least once.
If United can reproduce the level of creativity on show against Chelsea then you’d expect them to win, but the quality of their finishing is concerning, so don’t expect them to pull away.
Team news
Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez, Christian Eriksen, Jadan Sancho and Amad Diallo have all been ruled out.
Raphael Varane is nearing a return but is not ready just yet, so Harry Maguire and Viktor Lindelof will continue at the back.
Tyler Adams, Max Aarons, Alex Scott, Lloyd Kelly, Ryan Fredericks, Emiliano Marcondes and Darren Randolph are unavailable for Bournemouth.
Key stats
- Man Utd have conceded 17 in 12 in all competitions at Old Trafford
- Man Utd have lost five of their last 10 matches at Old Trafford
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in four Premier League games, winning four
- Bournemouth have scored nine goals in four and six in their three away games
