Bournemouth vs Manchester United

Vitality Stadium sets the stage for a tasty-looking Premier League meeting between Bournemouth and Manchester United.

Bournemouth’s quest to secure an admirable top-seven finish in the Premier League has taken a series of blows, with a poor run of one win in eight games (D3, L4) leaving them narrowly outside the top eight. However, they could still secure a maiden European qualification, especially if they beat Manchester United, a side they’ve enjoyed facing lately. Indeed, Andoni Iraola’s men have earned seven points from their last three top-flight H2Hs (W2, D1) – as many as they accumulated in their first 12 EPL clashes against United (W2, D1, L9). Furthermore, the Cherries have seemingly tightened up their defense, keeping back-to-back league clean sheets ahead of this encounter. As a result, they could post three consecutive shutouts in England’s elite division for the first time since November 2019.

In the meantime, Manchester United’s dreadful Premier League campaign could hit a new low this weekend as Bournemouth could become the sixth side to pull off a league double over the Red Devils this term. United last endured such fate in 1930/31, and it would only add insult to injury as they brace for their first bottom-half finish in the Premier League era. Despite reaching the Europa League semi-finals, Ruben Amorim’s men will unlikely take this trip in a buoyant mood after a 1-0 defeat at Wolverhampton last weekend left them on the brink of three consecutive away league losses for the first time since 2022. Scoring first could help them avoid that unwanted feat, as they’ve not lost any of their ten league matches when breaking the deadlock this term (W6, D4).