Manchester United vs Bournemouth 04/07/20

04 July 2020

Manchester United welcome relegation-threatened Bournemouth to Old Trafford, looking to settle the score after sustaining a narrow 1-0 loss in the fixture.

Manchester United are enjoying a purple patch, having avoided defeat in 15 consecutive games in all competitions (W10, D5), as they trail fourth-placed Chelsea by only two points ahead of the kick-off. The Red Devils have based their recent success on a rock-solid defense that kept a clean sheet in 11 of those 15 abovementioned matches, restricting their rivals to precisely one goal per game in the other four. At home in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have not conceded a goal in four straight fixtures (W3, D1), with each of those wins seeing United score in both halves. Another success is on the cards here, given that United won three of four top-flight H2Hs held at this stadium (D1).

In the meantime, the visitors head to Old Trafford on a run of seven successive league games without a win (D1, L6), six of which saw them score one goal or less. In turn, the Cherries have lost ten of their last 11 Premier League road trips (W1), drawing a blank in six while scoring precisely once per match in the other five. Indeed, only two sides have scored fewer away goals than Bournemouth (12) this season, with the majority (66.67%) of them coming before the break (eight). Conceding the opening goal could prove fatal to Bournemouth’s hopes of avoiding defeat here. In fact, Eddie Howe’s side lost all nine of their Premier League away matches in which they’ve shipped the opener.