AFC Bournemouth
AFC Bournemouth host Manchester United this weekend, with the Cherries unbeaten at home this season after eight games played.
With the Red Devils eighth in the Premier League, and three points behind Eddie Howe’s side, the game looks set to be a thriller on the south coast.
Ahead of the fixture, we spoke with the Manchester Evening News’ chief Manchester United writer, Samuel Luckhurst, to get the lowdown on Jose Mourinho’s side.
You can follow Samuel on Twitter here.
afcb.co.uk: Tell us a little bit about United’s start to the season, it’s been a mixed bag…
SL: It has settled down an awful lot since the Newcastle game. The Juventus defeat, there has been a borderline history on it, because Juventus are a much superior side. In the Premier League, they’ve had some momentum.
I think what has helped is Mourinho’s position of players like Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial, the introverts who he’s publicly rebuked a number of times; they have really come good this season. Shaw has been Player of the Month two months running, Marital’s going to win it for October, but anything can change so quickly with United.
I think the Bournemouth game is a difficult test, it’s also an important game with Juventus and the derby next week. It’s a crucial week going into the November international break. The Bournemouth game from United’s point of view is a must win anyway, but it’s also a big opportunity to build on momentum from Everton and the second half performance at Chelsea.
afcb.co.uk: Will United be looking ahead to their two big games next week?
SL: They’ve got a four-day gap between the Bournemouth game and the Juventus match, which I think works nicely for United. I think it’s good that the Bournemouth game is an early kick-off. It doesn’t necessarily give an advantage for the fans but it does for the players.
Looking ahead to that game, depending on the injury news that comes out, it wouldn’t surprise me if Mourinho named an unchanged side because it was one of their most accomplished performance of season against Everton.
With Juventus on Wednesday and City on Sunday, they’re quite evenly spread out which suits them and I know Mourinho is a bit of a stickler for that detail and wanting English clubs in Europe to be given an extra day to prepare.
His experience in Italy was that Serie A teams were given preferential treatment if they were in Europe, and given extra time to recover so that they can be at their optimum for the games. That’s not been the case in the Premier League.
afcb.co.uk: How much of an influence has Luke Shaw been this season?
SL: We had the pleasure of speaking to him in Los Angeles in July. He was very very frank about his situation. He said that he didn’t want to sign a contract at that point, he wanted to earn it and he has earned it.
United were also of the opinion that he had to be tied down to a long-term deal because they thought the potential was there that he could be a world class left-back. That’s what they thought they were getting when they signed him.
While his performances haven’t stood out as much as the first half of the season, that steady consistency is something Mourinho really rates and he is getting that with Shaw. He isn’t making the elementary errors that he used to and there’s an element of trust there.
