Despite the extremely rough start to the season, by one measure the club’s worst beginning since 1962, Manchester United are just currently three points outside the top four. If that doesn’t sound impressive, heading into the AFC Bournemouth clash, consider who they are trailing by those three points- Manchester City.
Yes, the “noisy neighbours,” the reigning treble winners, the side that thinks they’ll win the league for the fourth straight season.
Manchester United vs AFC Bournemouth FYIs
Kick: Sat. Dec. 9, 3pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
United Material: Starting XI Prediction Team News
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: AFC Bournemouth win 17% Draw 21% Man United 62%
PL Standing, Form Guide: AFC Bournemouth 15th, 16 pts, WDWWL Man United 6th, 27 pts, WLWWW
Their manager Pep Guardiola literally said that on Tuesday…and promptly lost to Aston Villa the next day. Yes, United, at least domestically, are not in as bad of a place as you might think. And now comes another game against a side in the lower part of the table, in AFC Bournemouth. These types of match-ups have been very good to the Red Devils so far this season, and we expect them to take care of business again this time.
Picking the first team seems pretty straight-forward right now. It kind of predicts itself.
Man United Starting XI Prediction vs AFC Bournemouth
Andre Onana; Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Aaron Wan-Bissaka; Scott McTominay, Sofyan Amrabat; Alejandro Garnacho, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford; Rasmus Hojlund
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.