Will Michael Carrick’s side keep up their hot streak? We look ahead to Friday’s Premier League clash with our Bournemouth vs Man Utd prediction and preview.
Bournemouth vs Man Utd: The Key Stats
Bournemouth won 38.7% of pre-match simulations by the Opta supercomputer, slightly ahead of Manchester United (34.8%).
Since Michael Carrick took charge of United in January, the Red Devils have won more Premier League games (7) and more Premier League points (22) than any other side.
Bruno Fernandes could become the first Premier League player on record to create six or more chances in four consecutive matches.
Michael Carrick will hope to continue Manchester United’s impressive rise under his leadership when they visit Bournemouth on Friday night.
The former United midfielder has had quite the impact since replacing Ruben Amorim for his second caretaker stint. His side have won more Premier League games (7) and more points (22) than any other side since his appointment in January.
Goals from Casemiro, Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko swept aside top-four rivals Aston Villa 3-1 last time out at Old Trafford, moving third-placed United three points clear of fourth.
Central to their strong run under Carrick has been Bruno Fernandes, who assisted another two goals in the victory over Villa. In fact, each of Casemiro’s last five Premier League goals this season have been created by Fernandes.
Most Premier League assists in a season race chart
Ithiel Piñero / Data Analyst
Only Marcus Rashford has been set up by the same player more often in a single campaign for Man Utd in the competition (6, again, by Fernandes in 2022-23), and the Portuguese playmaker will expect to keep the chances flowing at the Vitality Stadium.
Fernandes has created 6+ chances in each of his last three Premier League games, becoming the first player to do so since Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold in December 2023. No player on record – since detailed Opta data collection began in 2003-04 – has created six or more chances in four successive appearances in the competition.
And the United captain will be looking forward to his next opponent. Fernandes has been involved in eight goals in his eight Premier League games against Bournemouth (4 goals, 4 assists), though only two of these (2 goals, 0 assists) have come at the Vitality.
Can Bruno Fernandes Break Assist Record?
But breaching Andoni Iraola’s defence may prove troublesome. Bournemouth are looking to keep three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since November 2019, when they had two goalless draws followed by a 1-0 win against Man Utd.
Coincidentally, their last two clean sheets this campaign have come in goalless draws – against struggling Burnley and high-flying Brentford – with United again Bournemouth’s third game in the run.
Could it happen again? Well, Bournemouth have kept nine clean sheets overall this season, only managing more in the top flight in 2016-17 and 2018-19 (10), and they have looked solid despite losing practically their entire backline last summer.
While change has been aplenty for Bournemouth in the transfer market, Iraola’s side still sit 10th in the league and unbeaten in their last 10 top-flight outings.
However, they have drawn each of their last four Premier League games, three of which have been goalless. The last side to draw five consecutive matches in the competition was Fulham between December 2020 and January 2021.
This fixture slot might appear inviting for the Cherries, though. Bournemouth have won three of their four Friday night games in the Premier League, the exception being a 4-2 loss at Liverpool in their opening game this season.
By contrast, United have won just one of their five away Friday night games in the Premier League (D2 L2), beating Aston Villa 1-0 in August 2015.
In terms of team news, Bournemouth will battle on without Justin Kluivert and Lewis Cook, though Tyler Adams’ fitness will be assessed late before the clash.
Carrick remains without Patrick Dorgu, Lisandro Martínez and Matthijs de Ligt, with that trio all expected back in mid-April.
Bournemouth vs Man Utd Head-to-Head
Eight different players scored as this pair played out a thrilling 4-4 draw at Old Trafford back in mid-December, and that kept up Bournemouth’s strong record against Monday’s visitors.
They are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against United (W2 D3), scoring more goals in these five (13) than they did in their first 12 against the Red Devils in the division (10).
Man Utd 4-4 Bournemouth xG Race Chart PL 25-26
However, United have lost just two of their eight away Premier League games against Bournemouth (W4 D2). Their last two visits to the Vitality have seen them come from behind to draw.
Rasmus Højlund’s 96th-minute leveller snatched a 1-1 draw in this exact fixture last season, cancelling out Antoine Semenyo’s first-half opener.
Bournemouth vs Man Utd Prediction
The Opta supercomputer struggled to split these two teams, with Bournemouth narrowly coming out on top in 38.7% of 10,000 pre-match simulations.
Manchester United still hold a 34.8% chance of claiming all three points, while the draw accounted for 26.5% in the rest of scenarios.
Bournemouth vs Man Utd Prediction Opta
Bournemouth vs Man Utd Predicted Lineups
Bournemouth: Djordje Petrović, Adrien Truffert, Marcos Senesi, James Hill, Álex Jiménez, Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, Rayan, Junior Kroupi, Marcus Tavernier, Evanilson.
Head Coach: Andoni Iraola
Manchester United: Senne Lammens, Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Leny Yoro, Diogo Dalot, Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro, Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo, Benjamin Šeško.
Head Coach: Michael Carrick
Opta Power Rankings
The Opta Power Rankings are a global team ranking system. They assign an ability score to over 15,000 domestic football teams. This score is on a scale between zero and 100, where zero is the worst-ranked team in the world and 100 is the best team in the world.
Ahead of kick-off on Friday, here is the Opta Power Ranking for both sides.
Premier League Stats Opta
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