Manchester United v Bournemouth LIVE commentary: Red Devils looking to cement top-four spot against struggling Cherries at Old Trafford

Manchester United will look to cement their place in the Premier League top four when they take on Bournemouth tonight.

Erik ten Hag’s men have started well after the mid-season break beating Nottingham Forest and Wolves.

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United sit in fourth place, one point behind Newcastle and two points above Tottenham in fifth, so this game is a big chance for them to move up the table.

The Cherries have lost both of their games since the break and have only won one of their last eight in the league.

Gary O’Neil is expected to be backed by the new owners at the Vitality Stadium, but his team need to start picking up points or risk being dragged into the relegation battle.

The Cherries are two points clear of the drop zone, and if results go against them, they might drop into those relegation places if they lose this one.

Manchester United v Bournemouth: talkSPORT coverage

This Premier League clash at Old Trafford is set to take place on Tuesday, January 3.

Kick-off at Old Trafford is scheduled for 8pm.

talkSPORT will have live and exclusive coverage of this one, with Adrian Durham serving as your host while Sam Matterface and former England defender Micky Gray will provide commentary.

talkSPORT.com will also have a live blog.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Rex

Manchester United v Bournemouth: Team news

The Red Devils only have one definite absentee in Axel Tuanzebe but Diogo Dalot, Jadon Sancho and Scott McTominay remain doubts.

Lisandro Martinez has been back in training for a few days after his World Cup exploits and might come into the starting XI, allowing Luke Shaw to move back across to left-back.

Marcus Rashford should also come back into the team after he was dropped for being late to a meeting but then came off the bench to score the winner.

Bournemouth have several injury problems to contend with and will be without Neto and David Brooks, while Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Fredericks and Junior Stanislas are likely to miss out.

Philip Billing is also doubtful after he was withdrawn against Crystal Palace on New Year’s Eve.

AFP

Manchester United v Bournemouth: What has been said?

Gary O’Neil on the transfer window: “It’s not always easy in January, sometimes a tricky month to get players out of where they are.

“But we’ll be looking to improve and hopefully help the boys that we’ve got here, that are a great group.

“They work their socks off, honest, have quality. But if we can add to that, of course, it helps our chances.”

Manchester United v Bournemouth: Match facts

• Manchester United have won seven of their 10 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth (D1 L2), with both defeats against them coming at the Vitality Stadium.
• Bournemouth have lost eight of their nine away games against Manchester United in all competitions, with the exception being a 1-1 draw in the Premier League in March 2017.
• Bournemouth have never won away from home in the league against either of the Manchester clubs (D2 L12). Only four teams have ever played more times away from home against United and City without winning in the Football League: Hull (24), Walsall (16), Gainsborough Trinity (15) and Chesterfield (15).
• Man Utd have lost their first league game in two of the last three calendar years, as many as they had in the previous 23 (W15 D6). They lost 1-0 at home to Wolves in their first game of 2022, but haven’t lost their first match in consecutive years since 1978/1979.
• Bournemouth have won their first league game in just one of the last 10 calendar years (D6 L3), winning 1-0 at Stoke in 2021.
• Manchester United have won their last three Premier League home games by an aggregate score of 6-0 – they’ve not won four in a row without conceding at Old Trafford since a run of six between May and October 2017.
• Bournemouth have won just eight points in their last 18 away Premier League games (W2 D2 L14), keeping no clean sheets in that 18-game run, conceding 49 times. They’ve shipped 26 goals in just eight away games this season, the second most by a team after their first eight away matches in a Premier League season, behind only Burnley in 2009-10 (conceded 27).
• Bournemouth have won just eight points in their last 18 away Premier League games (W2 D2 L14), keeping no clean sheets in that 18-game run, conceding 49 times. They’ve shipped 26 goals in just eight away games this season, the second most by a team after their first eight away matches in a Premier League season, behind only Burnley in 2009-10 (conceded 27).
• Only six teams have ever won away from home against Manchester United in the Premier League as a newly promoted side but one of those – Norwich City in December 2015 – had current Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil in their starting XI that day. He could become the third person to win away from home at Old Trafford as a player and manager in the Premier League, along with Steve Clarke (Chelsea as a player, West Brom as manager) and Mark Hughes (Chelsea player, Blackburn manager).
• Marcus Rashford has been directly involved in seven of Manchester United’s last 10 home Premier League goals (5 goals, 2 assists), scoring in each of his last two such games at Old Trafford. Rashford has never scored in three consecutive league appearances at Old Trafford.