Premier League: Red Devils Can Win the Key Battles with Bournemouth

Manchester United vs Bournemouth

Fans of clubs at both ends of England’s top flight will be taking a keen interest in Premier League: Manchester United vs Bournemouth next Tuesday.

It’s a match which has implications for the top four race and the relegation battle as, at the time of writing, the Red Devils are in fifth place and breathing down the necks of Tottenham, while the Cherries are currently 14^th, but on a difficult run and only three points above the drop zone.

The second half of the campaign is when the going gets tough, and only time will tell whether United or Bournemouth, or both, will be tough enough to win their battles.  

Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag has instilled discipline and organisation into his squad and they are starting to look like a team. Meanwhile, Gary O’Neil has done a fine job since taking over at Bournemouth, pulling them out of the relegation zone, but things have been trickier of late and there is still plenty of work to do. Manchester United beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 on their return to action, thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Fred, while Bournemouth lost 2-0 to Chelsea.

The Manchester United vs Bournemouth betting odds are right behind the Red Devils to win this match so let’s have a look at the key battles they will need to win to nail down the three points.

Talking Points

Kieffer Moore vs Harry Maguire

6ft 5in Wales striker Moore is the Cherries’ top scorer with four and his power in the air has been fruitful for both club and country. He’s a target man who can win the key aerial duels and either plant it in the net or knock down for a co striker, and Dominic Solanke will not be far away.

Harry Maguire will be the man to keep Moore quiet, he too is strong in the air and at 6ft 4in will match the Bournemouth man when the crosses fly in. The England centre back was sidelined with illness last week but should be fit to play against Bournemouth alongside Raphael Varane, while World Cup winner Lisandro Martinez is out. I think Maguire will cope with Moore unless he has one of those moments!

Christian Eriksen vs Jefferson Lerma

With five assists Eriksen has been Manchester United’s most creative player and the great Dane is a superb team member, in that he can switch from wing to wing or play just behind the main striker. His vision, passing range, dribbling skills and eye for goal make him a nightmare to mark and the job will likely fall to Bournemouth’s defensive midfielder Jefferson Lerma. If he fails to pick Erikson up then Eriksen will provide a killer ball or sneak in for a goal as he recently did against Burnley in the Carabao Cup. 

Colombian ace Lerma is an uncompromising tackler but he has enough pace to keep up with a speedy forward, though he probably has the toughest job in his team next Tuesday.        

Casemiro vs Lewis Cook 

Bournemouth midfielder Cook may argue that he has the toughest job as he will be up against Brazilian legend Casemiro in the battle for the centre of the park. Cook is Bournemouth through and through and he picked up an England cap in 2018. He’s a leader on the pitch but he faces one of the best in the business in Casemiro. The former Real Madrid ace has won four Champions League winners medals and he has been one of the Red Devils’ standout players this season.     

History

United have had the better of the head-to-head Manchester United vs Bournemouth results, winning seven of the ten meetings since 2015, losing two and drawing one, and are unbeaten in five games at home in this fixture. On their last meeting, the Cherries suffered a 5-2 hammering as Rashford, Martial and Bruno Fernandes were all on target for the Reds.

In terms of recent form (before the weekend fixtures) the Red Devils had won four and lost two of the last six games while the Cherries had won two and lost four.

United are unbeaten at home in eight games while Bournemouth have won just once on the road this term. 

Betting Tip

United are at SBOTOP odds of 1.28 to win this clash, while the draw is at 5.03 and the Cherries are at 8.68 to pull of a big surprise. But I don’t believe that’s about to happen. The Red Devils have fourth placed Spurs in their sights and the way they dispatched Nottingham Forest last week they have the look of a team with a mission; and I suspect O’Neil’s Bournemouth will suffer the same fate as Forest on Tuesday.

 

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