Manchester United have come up with the perfect response after Jose Mourinho’s sacking and go into Sunday’s home match against Bournemouth with a renewed ambition and belief to qualify for the Top 4 at the very least.
A week ago, such a scenario was hard to fathom but Jose’s exit seems to have freed the super-talented individuals from the proverbial shackles and the neutrals have suddenly found another team playing attractive football thereby helping elevate the quality of the league a touch higher.
United have scored 8 goals in their last two games playing a brand of football which befits their stature and we can expect an entertaining game of football given Bournemouth’s penchant to employ attack as the best form of defence.
PRE-MATCH MINI TRIVIA
- Manchester United have not lost their last 7 home games in the league.
- Bournemouth have lost their last 4 away matches in the Premier League.
- United have won 5 out of their last 6 games against Bournemouth.
Looking at the above stats, a home win for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side looks imminent even though with Wilson and King up top, the Cherries will be secretly backing themselves to pull off an upset.
MANCHESTER UNITED TEAM NEWS
The trio of Anthony Martial, Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku are back in training. But Sanchez and Lukaku are unlikely to start straight away. Chris Smalling has been ruled out for a couple of weeks while Scott McTominay and Marcos Rojo are expected to return to training soon.
PREDICTED MANCHESTER UNITED LINEUP VS BOURNEMOUTH (4-3-3)
DEFENCE
David de Gea has not kept a clean sheet for quite some time now and a shutout should be high on the agenda on Sunday.
We expect Ashley Young to return at right-back with Luke Shaw lining up on the opposite flank.
Solskjaer has not shied away from changing his winning combination but we don’t think he will be tinkering with the central defensive partnership right now. Hence another start for both Victor Lindelof and Phil Jones is in order.
MIDFIELD
Nemanja Matic is expected to retain his place at the base of the midfield 3. Paul Pogba has looked a completely different player and freed of the defensive shackles, he has hit his stride finally. Ander Herrera was afforded a rest against Huddersfield Town and he is likely to come in for Fred to complete the midfield trio.
ATTACK
Anthony Martial is in line for a start on the left wing. We expect Jesse Lingard to shift over to the right thereby dislodging Juan Mata from the starting XI. Marcus Rashford should start up front once again with Lukaku expected to find a spot on the bench.
