Manchester United will face Bournemouth in a rescheduled game at Old Trafford this Tuesday. The original fixture on Sunday was abandoned on police advice due to fears regarding the contents of a suspected package found at Old Trafford’s North-West stand.
While Bournemouth are celebrating survival in their first ever Premier League campaign, Manchester United are set to miss out on the Champions League for the second time in three seasons. They lie 3 points off fourth-placed Manchester City and must win by an improbable margin of at least 19 goals if they are to pip their neighbours to Europe’s elite competition.
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Manchester United are set to tweak the starting line-up that was supposed to play on Sunday, keeping the FA Cup final in mind and realising that Champions League qualification is no longer possible. Matteo Darmian, Luke Shaw and Bastian Schweinsteiger will no longer feature this season. Marouane Fellaini completes his 3-match ban in this fixture.
AFC Bournemouth boss Eddie Howe is bound to field the same XI who were supposed to start the game two days ago. Tyrone Mings, Adam Smith and veteran Sylvain Distin are still injured.
Form
Manchester United’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League were dealt a massive blow when some poor marking from set-plays condemned them to a 3-2 defeat to West Ham United in Upton Park’s swansong. With Manchester City getting a point at Swansea, United are effectively out of the race to clinch fourth place. Can they atleast finish off a disappointing Premier League campaign on a high?
Last 5 games(All Competitions): L-W-D-W-W (Most Recent – West Ham United 3-2 Manchester United)
Bournemouth seem to have slacked off over the past few weeks after guaranteeing survival in their inaugural taste of the Premier League. As far as they are concerned, it’s all about going through the motions as they look to close out a successful beginning to life in England’s top-tier.
The quality in the final third has been lacking over the past month and striker Callum Wilson no longer seems to be the player he was before injury ruined his season. Can Eddie Howe’s side get some inspiration from the Theatre of Dreams and pull off a miracle against the Red Devils?
Last 5 games(All Competitions): D-L-L-L-W (Most Recent – Bournemouth 1-1 West Bromwich Albion)
Predicted Starting Line-ups
Manchester United(4-1-4-1) : Romero – Fosu-Mensah, McNair, Jones, Borthwick-Jackson – Schneiderlin – Pereira, Mata, Herrera, Memphis – Rooney
Bournemouth(4-2-3-1): Boruc – Francis, Cook, Elphick, Daniels – Arter, Surman – Ritchie, Wilson, Pugh – King
Key Stats
1. This is the first league meeting between these two sides at Old Trafford
2. Louis van Gaal’s side have won each of the four FA Cup matches between these two sides on this ground – scoring 12 without reply.
3. Manchester United have won 6 out of their last 7 fixtures at Old Trafford(D1). They have conceded only 8 goals all season at home this season – better than any other side.
4. Bournemouth have won more games away from home(6) than at Dean Court(5) this season.
Key Battles
Juan Mata vs Andrew Surman
The Spanish puppet-master has recently been in good touch whenever he plays in a central role behind the striker. His vision of the game to find the accurate pass is what needs to be read by defensive midfielder Andrew Surman if he has to stop the ex-World Cup winner from creating good goal-scoring opportunities.
Predictions
Manchester United may be down on spirits following their failure to qualify for the Champions League, but should still have the quality and firepower to get a positive result against the Cherries.
Manchester United 2-0 AFC Bournemouth
