Bournemouth welcome Manchester United to the Vitality Stadium on Sunday, aiming to become the sixth team to secure a league double over the Red Devils this season. Andoni Iraola’s side remain in the hunt for European qualification next term, while Ruben Amorim’s men might ease off in the Premier League as they chase Europa League success.
Last week, Manchester United endured a rollercoaster of emotions, from the thrill of a stunning Europa League comeback against Lyon to the disappointment of another Premier League home defeat, this time against relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves’ Pablo Sarabia sealed the win at Old Trafford with a brilliant free kick, handing United their second consecutive league loss and extending their winless run in the competition to four matches.
With 15 defeats already, United are safe from relegation but languishing in the lower half of the Premier League table, marking their worst top-flight loss tally since the 1989-90 season. Still, their domestic results may take a backseat if they can triumph in the Europa League, with Amorim’s squad preparing for their semi-final first leg against Athletic Bilbao in the Basque Country on Thursday.
Man United aims to avoid a run of five Premier League games without a victory, something both Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag avoided, before continental considerations took precedence once more. This is the first such stretch since the pre-COVID days of 2019.
Bournemouth, which shared Man United's 0 goal destiny last weekend, was unable to capitalize on three extremely controversial decisions that went their way against Crystal Palace. Tyler Adams and Alex Scott both escaped second yellows, but Chris Richards was less fortunate.
Despite using an additional man for the whole second half, the Cherries were unable to defeat the exhausted Eagles, resulting in yet another blow to their already remote ambitions of finishing in the top seven. With one game left, they are now eight points behind Aston Villa.
Though a pitiful record of just one win from their previous seven games across all competitions is hardly European-worthy form, Bournemouth's eighth-place finish might yet be enough for a Conference League slot based on the FA Cup conclusion.
However, Bournemouth set a club record with 49 points for the Premier League season with last weekend's draw at Selhurst Park. The Cherries may potentially post three consecutive clean sheets in the league for the first time since November 2019.
The signs are especially good in that respect; the last time Bournemouth maintained three straight EPL clean sheets, they defeated Man United 1-0. However, during a terrible game, Man United was humiliated 3-0 at home by Iraola's European contenders.
