GW 11: Bournemouth vs. Manchester United

Bournemouth host Manchester United in the first PL game of the weekend and could be the perfect game to set up the brilliant Saturday we have coming up for us. This match sees a good team out of form face a team over exceeding their expectations massively and at the moment Bournemouth sit 3 points ahead of United. Bournemouth have looked a brilliant side this campaign under Eddie Howe where as Mourinho is struggling to create a positive attitude and style of play at United. Both teams got wins in their last matches with Bournemouth getting an incredible 3-0 win over the defensively suspect Fulham and United winning 2-1 over Everton. This season Bournemouth have scored more and concede less than this United outfit so on paper it looks like Bournemouth should walk away with this one but the fact that Man United have so many incredible players makes it a much more interesting and even game.

Bournemouth have had a fantastic and electrifying attack this season and have scored more than sides Tottenham and Man United with only one less goal than the unbeaten Liverpool side who sit in 2nd place. With Man United not looking good this season Bournemouth suddenly become candidates to make the top 6 which is what any mid-table side dreams of. Bournemouth have had a slight turn of luck this season though with 5 of their 19 goals coming from the penalty spot. Bournemouth have been decent at home this season but not any better than they have been away so you wouldn’t expect the venue to heavily change the outcome of the match. Bournemouth haven’t lost a PL game for the last 4 matches winning 3 of those meaning they’ve been in great form after their terrible 4-0 loss to Burnley.

There are a number of players who will be crucial for Bournemouth. Ake should be the most important player for Bournemouth this match. Although the attack has been what most people have focused on when talking about Bournemouth this season the defence will need to shine against a United attack that has the likes of Lukaku, Martial, Rashford and Sanchez at their disposal. Ake has been Bournemouth’s stand-out defender this season and has put up some good numbers. He is making 1.6 tackles and interceptions a game and his 9 successful tackles is more than any other Bournemouth player this season. He also has a goal and has hit the woodwork showing that he can provide going forward as well.

Callum Wilson has been another stand out player for Bournemouth and is their top scorer with 5 goals this season. The incredible thing is that he also has 4 assists meaning he is contributing 0.9 goals a match. Fraser is one to watch and is currently top on the assists chart in the PL with 5. He has been the main creator for Bournemouth but he has also scored 3 goals which makes his start even more outstanding. The final player to watch out for is the in-form David Brooks who they signed from Sheffield United in the summer.  After taking a while to get going he has scored 3 times in their last 4 matches from a midfield position. He also has contributed defensively with 11 tackles this season.

Man United have endured one of their worst Premier League starts to a season of all time and they currently sit in 8th place behind teams Bournemouth and Watford. Man United have only managed 1 clean sheet this season and have conceded 17 goals already. This poor defensive record is the main reason that they’ve started so badly and they’ll be hoping that Mourinho can find a way to find a solid defensive line-up like he has done in previous season.United have steadied the ship a little though with 2 wins and a draw in their last 3 games after that terrible 3-1 loss to West Ham and they’ll be hoping to continue this run of unbeaten games.

Martial will be expected to show some magic in this game as he’s has scored a whopping 4 times in his past 3 matches. He’s only made 5 starts and 2 substitute appearances this season so it’s clear that he is being rewarded by Mourinho with gametime as he has started all of his last 4 matches. Lindelof is going to have a tough job this gameweek against this strong Bournemouth attack but he has been United’s most promising defender in recent weeks. He has made 21 tackles and interceptions in only 8 starts this season as well as 35 clearances. These stats show that he is the key figure in their defensive line and he will have to be on top of his game for United to get a clean sheet against this strong Bournemouth outfit.

For bournemouth Simon Francis is a doubt for this game after picking up a groin injury and has around a 50% chance of playing in this one. In more serious news Joshua King is guaranteed not to start as he has a bad ankle problem. This could seriously affect Bournemouth as he has been key to them this season with 4 goals already. For Manchester United Valencia and Fellaini are both out for sure with a knee injury and a knock respectively. Scott McTominay is also a doubt for this one. These injuries shouldn’t affect United too badly with Fellaini being more of an impact player off the bench and Valencia being rotated anyway this season. McTominay also hasn’t looked great this season and hasn’t seen much game time even when fit.

With both teams suspect defensively and containing in-form attackers such as Wilson, Fraser and Martial this game is set to be entertaining with both sides focusing more on attack than defence this season. United have struggled away from home this season losing to Brighton and West Ham on away turf so the fact that they have to travel to the Vitality Stadium could prove a difficult task. Bournemouth have played well this season but have yet to be tested to the fullest and their only match against a side from last season’s top 6 resulted in a 2-0 loss to Chelsea. I suspect this will be a high-scoring game with plenty of action and I believe the final score will be a 2-2 draw.