Wednesday Premier League- Bournemouth vs Manchester United
April 18th 2018 19:45 – Vitality Stadium
Recent Form (League)
Bournemouth: LWDDL
Manchester United: WWWWL
Manchester United will look to bounce back after a humiliating home defeat against bottom side West Bromwich Albion which ended their title challenge and prompted celebrations in the blue half of Manchester with five games to spare.
Bournemouth also suffered a defeat in their last league outing, losing 3-0 to Liverpool to end their three match unbeaten run. They had picked up five points from the previous three games, but their only win since February was against their opponent’s weekend conquerors West Brom.
The Cherries are a team with minimal ambition at the moment, their sole target to widen the gap to the relegation zone. Currently 11th in the table, they have a 10-point cushion over the bottom three but mathematically, they are still not safe. Considering they have won just a quarter of their matches this season, any result here would be a bonus.
However, two points from the remaining four games should be enough for Eddie Howe’s men to secure that all important Premier League berth for next season. The Cherries home form has been good with one defeat in the last eight at the Vitality Stadium albeit against teams outside of the top five.
Which Manchester United will turn up is anyone’s guess. Mourinho’s men went from the sublime in the win over Manchester City, to the ridiculous in the defeat against West Brom in just a matter of days.
They have failed to win seven of their 16 Premier League away games this season, and on many occasions their usually rock solid defence has looked shaky. Their last two away trips have ended in 3-2 victories in which they came from behind to win. And while they provided entertainment, they didn’t exactly cover their back line in glory. A record of two clean sheets in their last 12 away games is also a worry..
With an FA Cup semi-final against Tottenham coming up, United’s only chance of silverware, team selection could play a part here. However, a top-three finish, which would guarantee a spot in the group stage of next season’s Champions League, is far from secure with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur still chasing hard. United need a few more wins to ensure they do not have to enter Europe’s elite competition at the qualifying stage so a balancing act is required.
Prediction:
Bournemouth have not registered a win at home against any of the top five teams in the table, but have score at least once in all but one of their last 14 Premier League fixtures. They have not drawn a blank at home in the league since the 1-0 defeat to Chelsea back on October.
An away win with over 2.5 goals in the game look goods at 13/10 with Betfair.