Manchester United have three injury doubts for Sunday’s visit from AFC Bournemouth: Lisandro Martinez, Ayden Heaven and Marcus Rashford. All three will need to pass a late fitness test in order to make the matchday squad here, for what is clearly a must-win game for the club.
Manager Michael Carrick could easily be sacked by Monday, if the Red Devils don’t deliver a result.
Man United vs Bournemouth FYIs
Kickoff: Sun. Oct. 25, 3pm, Old Trafford, Manchester, UK
Man United Team News: Part 1 Part 2
Top Candidates to Replace Carrick, if He Gets Sacked: go here
Google Result Probability: AFC Bournemouth win 29% Draw 26% Man United 45%
PL Standing, Form Guide: AFC Bournemouth 15th, 6 pts, DDLLW Man United 13th, 7 pts, DLDDD
Man United Team News
Interestingly enough, Carrick said at his presser, just a couple hours ago that Bruno Fernandes will not be stripped of his captaincy, after having questioned his own manager’s tactics in a postmatch interview.
Martinez didn’t face major discipline from the club, either, for his publicly hitting out at the club.
Elsewhere Patrick Dorgu, Manuel Ugarte and Thomas Heaton remain sidelined, as longer-term injury absentees. And as we covered in the first Team News article, a few minutes ago, Kobbie Mainoo, Luke Shaw and Benjamin Sesko are all going to be out longer than expected, it seems, due to injury.
It’s always hard to say with them, because the proverbial goalposts keep getting moved back, when it comes to their respective injury recovery timelines.
Manchester United Predicted XI vs Bournemouth
Senne Lammens; Diogo Dalot, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Noussair Mazraoui; Carlos Baleba, Youri Tielemans; Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Amad Diallo; Joshua Zirkzee
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor 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 currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.