Overview
Coach Michael Carrick hopes to continue Manchester United's impressive progress under his leadership when they visit Bournemouth.
The former Man United midfielder has made a big impact since replacing Ruben Amorim in his second interim term. The Old Trafford team has won more Premier League matches (7) and won more points (22) than any other team since he was appointed in January.
Goals from Casemiro, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko helped Man United defeat top 4 rivals Aston Villa with a score of 3-1 in their most recent match at Old Trafford, thereby rising to third place, 3 points ahead of the fourth-placed team.
The key factor in this impressive streak is Bruno Fernandes, who continues to shine with two assists against Villa. In fact, all 5 of Casemiro's recent goals in the Premier League this season have come from Fernandes' passes.
Only Marcus Rashford is a player who has been assisted more times by the same person in a season for Man United (6 times, also by Fernandes in the 2022-2023 season). This shows the huge influence of the Portuguese midfielder.
Fernandes is also in top form when creating at least 6 chances in the last 3 Premier League matches. He became the first player to do this since Trent Alexander-Arnold in December 2023. Since Opta collected data (2003-2004), no one has created 6 or more chances in 4 consecutive matches.
The Man United captain also has a very good record against Bournemouth, when directly involved in 8 goals after 8 encounters (4 goals, 4 assists), even though only 2 goals were scored at Vitality Stadium.
However, penetrating Bournemouth's defense will not be easy. Coach Andoni Iraola's team is aiming for 3 consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League - something they have not done since 2019.
Bournemouth's last two matches have both ended 0-0, and they have kept 9 clean sheets this season - a record only less than their two previous best seasons in the Premier League.
Despite many force changes, Bournemouth is still ranked 10th and unbeaten in the last 10 matches in the league. However, they have drawn in all 4 recent matches, including 3 matches without goals.
Notably, Bournemouth played quite well on Friday night (local time) when they won 3/4 matches at this time, while Man United only won 1/5 similar away matches in Premier League history.
In terms of force, Bournemouth lacks Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook, and Tyler Adams needs further testing. Meanwhile, Man United does not have the service of Patrick Dorgu, and Lisandro Martinez and Matthijs de Ligt are expected to return in mid-April.
Head-to-head record
In the most recent confrontation, the two teams drew 4-4 dramatically at Old Trafford. Bournemouth is currently unbeaten in 5 consecutive matches against Man United in the Premier League (2 wins, 3 draws), scoring 13 goals - more than all 12 previous encounters.
However, Man United has only lost 2 of their last 8 away games to Vitality Stadium (4 wins, 2 draws). The last two times have ended with late draws, including a goal in the 90+6 minute by Rasmus Hojlund last season.
Score prediction: Bournemouth 1-2 Man United
The match between Bournemouth and Man United takes place at 3:00 AM on March 21 (Vietnam time).
