That's what she said 🤣.
The Cherries come to Old Trafford in match 17 (geez, 17 already?!) of the Premier League in what I believe will be a very difficult game.
Ruben Amorim will be hoping to get back-to-back wins in the league for the first time since arriving at the club after the epic derby-day triumph.
That loss to Spurs though, does leave a bit of a sour taste in the mouth but we didn't want to win that game anyway 🤷♂️😅.
Predicted Lineup
I don't think this XI should have any surprises. I think after 5 league games, Amorim now has a better idea of what his best team is so the surprising rotations shouldn't be something we see much of from this point on.
I've kept the back three the same as was against City as all of De Ligt, Maguire and Martinez put in one of our best defensive displays of the season. However, the butcher was poor in the defeat at Spurs with many (including myself) questioning whether he has what it take in this Amorim system.
Dalot will move back to the left with Mazraoui staying on the right. The pair looked to be quite fatigued which could work against us and for our opponents.
I believe that our best midfield duo is Mainoo and Ugarte as it provides the right balance and the two compliment each other really well.
The front three of Amad, Bruno and Hojlund is for me, our best trio in attack. There is a lot of work rate, high pressing, creativity and the chance for goals with that front three.
Approach
I do think we will have more possession. I think United will be on the front foot for large portions of the game and look to do what they've been doing for the last couple of matches.
In the derby in particular, United kept the ball really well and frustrated our opponents with possession. We rotated when we needed to, kept it simple and also didn't force the issue when nothing was on.
The back three are comfortable on the ball which will help us to build up from the back.
The only area of concern with the defence is corners and crosses into the box. This is more a collective thing rather than just the back line to be honest.
United conceded goals from corners in all of their last three league games. The one let in at City meant that MUFC have now conceded 42% of their goals from corners, the worst record in the league. Another was let in at Spurs and we did concede from a cross as well.
Bournemouth will be looking to take advantage of that even more so because in this fixture last season, all of their goals came from crosses, one of which was from a corner.
Another problem for Amorim is that his team has struggled to create chances in certain matches. Against City, United had just the 3 shots on target which is nowhere near enough although it proved to be for the derby.
However, in most games in this league chances are that that amount is far too less if any team wants to win.
United have to improve going forward otherwise we will find it difficult to get the 3 points.
I also believe that Bournemouth will look to keep things tight and hit on the break. That is our kryptonite as we still seem to lack ideas when it comes to breaking down a low block. With little pace going backwards, that could be another area of concern for the United boss.
Form
It has improved thanks to the win in the derby even though that was just one game. However, had we lost that, Amorim would've had three straight losses in the league in just five games.
So that win was important for many reasons.
Nevertheless, MUFC have been so pathetic this season that before the derby, we were in 13th. After the derby win, we are in 13th 😑.
Erik ten Hag really did a number on us, didn't he?
That win still sees a 6-point gap to 4th. 6 points!
The last five in the PL have seen United win two, draw one and lose two with just the +2 goal difference, which again shows how poor we've been in front of goal.
At home, United are 12th in the home table with a record of four wins, one draw and three losses at Old Trafford with the GD also sitting at +2 as we've scored 13 at home. Brentford have double that at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford.
Bournemouth
Andoni Iraola's team are actually flying this season.
The Cherries were in 6th (yes 6th!) in the table and just 2 points behind Forest in 4th ahead of this game week. Goodness gracious. Bournemouth in 6th pushing for European football and are 2 points behind Forest who are at the moment, playing CL football next season.
This is Premier League 'eritage.
Bournemouth have seven wins, four draws and five losses from their 16 matches and have scored 24 goals, 3 more than United.
The team from the coast have lost one, drawn one and won three of their last five meaning that only Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal have a better recent record than them.
In their seven victories, the Cherries have beaten the likes of Spurs, Arsenal and City! Well, tbf, everyone is beating City yet even still, they beat Spurs and Arsenal.
On the road, they are also doing pretty well as Bournemouth are 7th in the away table, five spots and 2 points ahead of United.
However, a weak spot of theirs is that they do concede more often than not as Kepa in goal has just the two shut outs this season. They've only kept one clean sheet in their last eight matches as well.
Recent Meetings
In the last year, things don't actually go well for MUFC when they come up against the Cherries.
In fact, last season, we failed to beat them at all as at the Vitality Stadium, we drew 2-2 and in this fixture, Bournemouth came to Old Trafford and smacked us up 3-0 in what was a damning performance by United.
This loss may have gone under the radar as one of our worst games due to how many pathetic performances we had last season.
Prediction
Like I said, I believe that this game will be really tight. Despite United having more of the ball, we will struggle at times to know what to do with it.
Bournemouth also play some decent football themselves so don't be surprised when they cause us a few problems.
Our opponents have also had a week off compared to United which will give them a bit of an advantage.
I can see this being a draw. 2-2 is my call.
We need and want more than that but I don't see how we beat such a good opponent.
Background Image: Amad, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)