Aiming to become the sixth different team to complete the double over Manchester United this season, Bournemouth host the Red Devils at the Vitality Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
Andoni Iraola's men are still fighting for European nights next season, whereas Ruben Amorim's squad could be forgiven for taking their foot off the pedal in the Premier League amid their pursuit of Europa League glory.
Match preview
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From the highs of an extraordinary Europa League comeback against Lyon to the lows of another Premier League home defeat - this time to fellow bottom-half battlers Wolverhampton Wanderers - Manchester United fans, players and coaches experienced the fullest range of emotions possible last week.
As Amorim's attackers floundered once again, Wolves' Pablo Sarabia produced a moment of mastery with a sublime free kick to settle the scores at the Theatre of Dreams, condemning Man United to a second straight Premier League loss and fourth consecutive match without victory in the competition.
At the very least, Man United cannot be mathematically relegated as they remain in the lower echelons of the Premier League table with an embarrassing 15 losses on their record; not since the 1989-90 campaign have they been beaten in more top-flight contests.
However, what happens in the Premier League between now and the end of May will prove largely inconsequential if Man United go all the way in the Europa League; Amorim's team head to the Basque Country for the first leg of their semi-final with Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Before continental thoughts take precedence once again, Man United endeavour to avoid a sequence that they have not suffered since the pre-COVID days of 2019 - a five-game winless run in the Premier League - which both Ralf Rangnick and Erik ten Hag managed to avoid.
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Sharing Man United's zero-goal fate last weekend, Bournemouth could not make the most of three highly contentious decisions going their way against Crystal Palace, where both Tyler Adams and Alex Scott avoided second yellows either side of Chris Richards not being so lucky.
Despite playing with an extra man for the entire second half, the Cherries could not pick off the depleted Eagles as their already slim top-seven hopes suffered another setback, one which leaves them eight points below Aston Villa having played a game fewer.
However, Bournemouth's eighth-placed position could still suffice for a Conference League spot depending on the outcome of the FA Cup, although a measly record of just one victory from their last seven in all tournaments is hardly European-worthy form.
Nevertheless, last weekend's draw at Selhurst Park saw Bournemouth amass a club-record 49 points for the Premier League season, and the Cherries could also now record three straight clean sheets in the competition for the first time since November 2019.
The omens are particularly promising in that regard; the last time Bournemouth kept three successive Premier League clean sheets, the third came in a 1-0 win over none other than Man United, who were humbled 3-0 at home yet again by Iraola's European hopefuls during a dreadful December.
Team News
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The Man United medical staff now have a new face to care for, as Amorim revealed in Friday's press conference that Diogo Dalot had sustained a calf injury, which might be severe enough to sideline him for the rest of the season.
Dalot joins Joshua Zirkzee (thigh), Lisandro Martinez (ACL), Toby Collyer (leg), Matthijs de Ligt (ankle), Ayden Heaven (ankle) and Amad Diallo (ankle) in the infirmary, but reports have claimed that the latter could be back in team training as early as next week.
Dalot's absence spells good news for teenage wing-back Harry Amass, who impressed alongside fellow youngster Tyler Fredricson in the loss to Wolves, but the latter's spot is surely now at risk from Leny Yoro and returning Europa League hero Harry Maguire.
As far as Bournemouth are concerned, long-term absentees Enes Unal (knee) and Ryan Christie (groin) are continuing their recovery programmes, and Iraola has confirmed that Luis Sinisterra's hamstring problem will not settle down in time either.
A late check will also have to be made on Lewis Cook, who was brought off the bench in the draw with Palace but has been soldiering on through the pain of an ankle problem for a couple of weeks now.
Set to face the club who are apparently leading the race for his services, Antoine Semenyo comes into the weekend having had a staggering 116 shots in the 2024-25 Premier League, the joint-most in the current season alongside Golden Boot favourite Mohamed Salah.
Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Smith, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez; Cook, Adams; Semenyo, Kluivert, Ouattara; Evanilson
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Yoro; Dorgu, Ugarte, Fernandes, Amass; Mount, Garnacho; Hojlund
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We say: Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United
While the likely return of Bruno Fernandes should aid Man United on the creativity front, it remains difficult to pinpoint just where the goals might come from on the visitors' end, Lyon aside.
A settled Bournemouth squad can therefore limit the visitors to few chances and capitalise on the Red Devils' defensive deficiencies to succeed on Sunday, where Man United's thoughts may already be on their next Europa League mission.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
