Manchester United will play Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday in an effort to tighten their grip on a top-four finish in the Premier League.
Last time out, the Red Devils prevailed against Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0, while the Cherries were defeated by Crystal Palace by the same score.
Despite losing their last two games against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, Bournemouth have proven many doubters wrong by retaining their Premier League status this season, just a year after regaining promotion.
After losing 3-1 at home to the Blues, the Cherries were blown away 2-0 at Selhurst Park by the Eagles last weekend thanks to a brace from Eberechi Eze. The Cherries failed to record a single chance on goal.
Gary O'Neil, who turned 40 on Thursday, deserves a lot of credit for keeping Bournemouth in the Premier League this season; his team is currently 14th in the standings, eight points above the relegation zone. However, the Cherries boss will be eager to end the season on a high note by winning their final two games, at home against Man United and on the road against Everton.
Bournemouth have a history of finishing well at home, having won their last game at the Vitality Stadium three times in the past five Premier League seasons. However, they lost 2-0 to Southampton in their most recent home finale in 2019-20.
The Cherries haven't been winning many games in front of their home crowd as of late. They've dropped three of their past four games there by a combined score of 10-1. In November 2019, however, they defeated Man United by a score of 1-0 thanks to a goal from former Red Devil Joshua King in the first half.
ALSO READ: NEWCASTLE CLOSE IN ON CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SPOT WITH RESOUNDING WIN OVER BRIGHTON.
Man United bounced back with a 2-0 home win over Wolves last weekend after two humiliating 1-0 away defeats to Brighton Hove Albion and West Ham United, respectively, thanks to a 99th-minute penalty and a David de Gea howler.
Midway through the first half, Anthony Martial scored his first goal in eight games to open the scoring, and then in second-half stoppage time, Alejandro Garnacho scored off the bench to seal the victory; no Premier League player has scored more goals off the bench this season than the teenage Argentine (three).
With 66 points after 35 games, Man United are already eight points ahead of where they were at this stage last season; yet, they are now just one spot and one point ahead of a red-hot Liverpool team that has played one more game.
The Red Devils' final three league games are all about securing a spot in next season's Champions League for Erik ten Hag and company. However, the Red Devils' poor away record in recent months has made that goal more difficult than it otherwise would have been.
Although Manchester United were defeated 1-0 by Crystal Palace in their final away league match of the previous season, they should have little trouble beating Bournemouth on Saturday. United have won eight of their last eleven Premier League meetings with Bournemouth, including a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in January.
