AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth host former Premier League champions Manchester United at Vitality Stadium in Saturday’s early kick-off.
AFC Bournemouth v Manchester United
Premier League
Saturday 3rd November, 12.30pm
Vitality Stadium
The Cherries go into the weekend’s game after four wins in the last five. Crystal Palace, Watford, Fulham and Norwich have all been defeated, with the only draw coming at home to Southampton.
Form at Vitality Stadium, however, remains strong, with Eddie Howe’s side undefeated at their base this season, having now played eight games.
It will be Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United hoping to become the first visiting team to come away with all three points on Saturday, just as they did when the teams last met in April.
Goals from Chris Smalling and Romelu Lukaku helped the Red Devils to victory on the south coast as they chased down eventual champions and noisy neighbours, Manchester City.
Last time out
Manchester United 2-1 Everton
United will be well rested for the weekend, having not had a cup fixture mid-week. They’ll be looking to add to their last Premier League outing, as Everton visited Old Trafford.
Paul Pogba opened the scoring just before the half-hour mark, before Anthony Martial doubled the hosts’ lead just after the break.
Yet, it wasn’t to be plain sailing for Mourinho’s men as Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty gave Everton a lifeline. It wasn’t enough though, and United came away with the three points.
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Lindelof, Shaw, Fred (Lingard 90+5), Matic, Pogba, Mata (Herrera 85), Rashford (Lukaku 65), Martial
2018/19 top scorer: Anthony Martial (five goals)
Team news
Marouane Fellaini could be in line to return for Manchester United this weekend. Having returned for international duty with an unspecified injury, he has missed both the 2-2 draw against Chelsea as well as last weekend’s game with Everton. Having returned to training, he could feature on Saturday.
As for the Cherries, Joshua King was the only player to miss out of last weekend’s win over Fulham, having also picked up a knock on international duty. Additionally, Simon Francis came off late on Tuesday night, but the state of his injury remains unknown.
The manager
There is no doubt that Mourinho possesses the necessary experience to help United win their first league title since the departure of Sir Alex Fergusson. An unlikely Champions League win with Porto in 2004 kick-started an increasingly successful managerial career.
Spells at the likes of Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid have set the Portuguese up well for the challenges currently facing his United side. Losses to the likes of Spurs and West Ham have proved costly, with the Red Devils eighth in the Premier League, but there is no doubt that Mourinho has the capabilities to turn it around in the north west.
Top stat
Paul Pogba has been involved in 31 Premier League goals since the start of 2016-17 (14 goals, 17 assists): more than any other Manchester United player.
