Overview
Earlier this week, Ruben Amorim's side easily beat Wolves - a team in crisis - 4-1 at Molineux. Bruno Fernandes shined brilliantly with a double and an assist for Mason Mount, while Bryan Mbeumo scored the other.
Manchester United have now lost just one of their last nine Premier League games (W5 D3). That was a 1-0 home defeat to Everton in their last game at Old Trafford on Monday evening.
Notably, Man United have won 18 points in their last nine games, more than they have in their previous 17 games (16 points - 4 wins, 4 draws, 4 losses 9). This positive streak of form has helped the "Red Devils" rise to sixth place, just one point behind the top four before the weekend round.
The key factor in that revival is captain Bruno Fernandes. The Portuguese midfielder has been directly involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League games (2 goals, 6 assists). The performance against Wolves alone helped him score and assist for the 16th time in the same Premier League match, behind only Wayne Rooney (35), Ryan Giggs (22) and David Beckham 17.17 in Man United's history.
Ahead of the 16th round, Fernandes has also created the most chances in the Premier League this season (45) and is leading the list of assists with 6 passes to goals, although his first assist only came in mid-October.
His impact also seems to be on Mount, who has scored three goals in his last seven Premier League games. That is one more goal than he has scored in his first 36 games for Man United in the competition). And the former Chelsea player seems to have become one of Amorim's most favorites.
However, Man United need to improve their defense, having only kept a clean sheet in one of their 15 Premier League games this season. Only bottom-placed Wolves have kept fewer clean sheets (0), but Man United's defensive problems are a persistent problem, not limited to this season.
Under Amorim, they have kept just six clean sheets in 42 games, with a rate of 14.3%, eighth from below among any coach who has led a club for more than 40 games.
Amorim hopes to improve this aspect in the upcoming match, especially when Bournemouth have not scored in the last two matches in the Premier League. The last time this team did not score in three consecutive matches was in the last three matches of the 2022-2023 season under Gary O'Neil.
Andoni Iraola needs Bournemouth to not only regain sharpness in finishing but also create more opportunities. They have only had 18 shots in their last two matches without scoring, against Everton (lost 0-1) and Chelsea (drawn 0-0), compared to 46 shots in the previous two matches.
The run of goalless play has contributed to Bournemouth's six consecutive league winless games (2 draws, 4 losses), their longest run since a run of seven games without a win between December and February of the 2023-24 season.
Head-to-head record
Bournemouth have a chance to make history, having beaten Manchester United 3-0 in two consecutive seasons at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
In their most recent trip to the "Theatre of Dreams" in December last year, goals from Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo helped Andoni Iraola's side continue to cause sadness for the "Red Devils".
However, no team has ever won three consecutive away games against Manchester United in the Premier League, scoring three or more goals in each match.
Notably, Man United are also going through a four-match winless streak against Bournemouth in the top flight of English football (D2 L2).
Score prediction: Man United 3-2 Bournemouth
The match between Man United and Bournemouth takes place at 3:00 am on December 16 (Vietnam time).
