Bournemouth vs Manchester United predictions: Cherries can pick off United
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- Bournemouth won the reverse fixture 3-0
- Manchester United have a trip to Bilbao next week to focus on
- Recommended bet: Bournemouth 0-1, 3-way handicap
Bournemouth face an uphill battle to finish in the top seven, but they will still feel European football could be possible and they can ensure they keep their bid alive if they can win at home to Manchester United on Sunday.
The visitors sit in 14th place in the table and they have little left to play for in the Premier League.
United’s full focus will be on the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie at Athletic Bilbao next week and boss Ruben Amorim may well rotate his side for Sunday’s trip to the south coast.
Team news
Bournemouth pair Ryan Christie and Enes Unal will miss out due to injury, but Luis Sinisterra could return after being sidelined with a thigh issue.
United have a number of injury concerns with Lisandro Martinez, Joshua Zirkzee, Amad Diallo, Ayden Heaven and Matthijs de Ligt all unavailable.
Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot are considered doubts, but youngster Toby Collyer may be able to make a return and Jonny Evans could be involved.
Amorim is expected to rotate his team and that means a few players from the club’s academy could be handed places on the bench.
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The stats
Bournemouth are unbeaten in three (W1, D2), while United are winless in their last six in normal time (D3, L3).
The Red Devils have managed just four wins in 16 attempts away from home in the league this season.
The Cherries have scored eight goals across the last three head-to-head meetings.
Prediction
Bournemouth’s season appeared to be fizzling out not too long ago, but a run of five points from their last three games suggests they still have a little more to give.
The Cherries sit in eighth place and there is a chance that that may be good enough for a European spot depending on who wins the FA Cup, while seventh isn’t necessarily out of reach if they do finish strongly and one or two of the teams above them has a wobble.
For United, this game is probably a bit of an unwelcome distraction as they prepare for a tough trip to Bilbao for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final tie on Thursday.
This season will of course be regarded as a disappointment at Old Trafford, but they still have a chance to win a trophy and victory in the Europa League would see them qualify for next season’s Champions League, so all is not lost.
Bournemouth managed to pick up a 1-0 win over Fulham in their last home game and they can go at least one better by beating United by two or more goals.
The Cherries have an excellent recent record against the visitors, with two wins and a draw in the last three meetings, beating United by an aggregate score of 8-2 across those games.
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