Manchester United continue their top-four chase as they host Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Victory would see Man Utd climb to third if Newcastle lose at Arsenal, whilst Bournemouth can go 13th with a win if Leicester lose elsewhere.
Team News
Lisandro Martinez could return for Man Utd after he missed their last three matches for personal reasons following Argentina’s World Cup success.
Scott McTominay (illness) and Diogo Dalot (hamstring) are doubts but Axel Tuanzebe (unspecified), Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood (both personal) remain absent.
Bournemouth could be without Philip Billing after he suffered a hip injury during their New Year’s Eve defeat against Crystal Palace.
Marcus Tavernier (hamstring) is a doubt but Ryan Fredericks, Junior Stanislas (both knock), Neto (hamstring) and David Brooks (fitness) remain absent.
Stat Attack
- Man Utd have lost just two of ten previous Premier League meetings against Bournemouth (W7, D1, L2).
- Bournemouth have claimed just one point in five previous Premier League visits to Old Trafford (D1, L4).
- Marcus Rashford has scored in each of Utd’s last two home matches against Bournemouth (W2).
- Five of Rashford’s six league goals this season have been scored at home.
- Since returning from the World Cup break, four of Bournemouth’s five conceded goals in all competitions were scored during the first-half.
Prediction
Despite scraping victory at Wolves on New Year’s Eve, Man Utd were again energetic in their attacking movement but just lacked that end product which they showed against Forest last week, amidst some sluggish defending when under the counter-attack threat.
I am therefore eager to see a more solid overall performance here from Utd especially if Marcus Rashford starts, after a timing error limited him to a substitute appearance at Molineux.
Bournemouth meanwhile were a mess against Crystal Palace with their defence once again looking lacklustre, which is a huge worry compared to their form before the break so a huge turnaround will be needed if they’re to get anything in this fixture.
My gut instinct therefore says a comfortable home win but anything can happen if Utd go off-form, although I just can’t see that happening here so the question lies in how Bournemouth’s defence will perform.
Prediction: Manchester United 2-0 Bournemouth
Result: Manchester United 3-0 Bournemouth
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