Key Points
- Life’s a beach for Bournemouth
- Inconsistent United can’t be trusted
- 2 bets at 13/10 and 17/10
Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth make the trip up to Old Trafford this Sunday looking to make it 4 wins from the last 5 as they chase a 5th match unbeaten in the PL.
The Cherries find themselves in 6th place in the league having acquired 25 points from their 16 matches and are just 3 points behind the Champions League positions.
For Ruben Amorim’s United, it is still very much an ongoing rebuild, with The Red Devils still down in the bottom half of the PL in 13th. Despite this, only 3 points separate the sides ahead of this weekend’s clash.
The dramatic late victory at rivals Manchester City last time out in the league will have no doubt boosted confidence in the camp but there will be disappointment following their exit from the league cup last night at Tottenham. After 2 defeats from his 5 PL games in charge so far, there are still signs of inconsistency that have plagued United in recent seasons.
Iraola’s side arrive at Old Trafford in good form, having taken 10 points from the last 5 fixtures and the style of football has arguably never been better for the South Coast club.
Goals-a-plenty for Cherries…at both ends!
Bournemouth have scored in 9 consecutive Premier League matches and have only failed to score 3 times across their 16 games all campaign. The never-say-die attitude instilled into Iraola’s outfit is encapsulated by the fact they have scored an incredible 9 times after the 85th minute onwards, which is a PL high this term.
These late goals have yielded an extra 9 points, so there’s certainly no lack of character or fight in this Bournemouth side. That being said, The Cherries have struggled to keep the goals out at the other end, with only 2 clean sheets all term and none of these coming on the road.
Likewise United have kept just 1 clean sheet since Amorim took charge at the end of November and have conceded in 6 of the last 7 under his tenure.
Improvement at last for United?
Inconsistent would probably be the best word to describe United’s performances and results both this campaign and in recent seasons as a whole. With an equal number of wins and defeats this term (6), the statistics prove how up and down United have been and how difficult it is to predict which side will turn up from one game to the next.
A morale-boosting win at The Etihad last Sunday will have no doubt worked wonders for The Red Devils’ confidence. However, this was preceded by a 3-2 defeat at home to Nottingham Forest in the previous PL match so uncertainty is still what you get with this current crop of United players.
League Cup Crashout in thriller for Reds against Spurs midweek
The follow-up was going 3-0 down at Spurs with less than 55 minutes gone which won’t help the confidence, particularly of the defensive unit.
There was an element of a fightback when pulling it back to 3-2 before eventually losing 4-3. However, this wasn’t exactly the kind of game to suggest a genuine improvement has been made under the new coach.
Marauding Milos Hungary for more
Bournemouth boss Iraola wants his team to play with an expansive 4-2-3-1 formation, with a well-known emphasis on high pressing and attacking football. This has particularly suited left-sided full-back Milos Kerkez.
The 21-year-old Hungarian international has been ever present for The Cherries, with a license to get forward on overlaps and join the attack. It’s a position he has particularly enjoyed this season under the Spanish head coach.
Bournemouth’s left-sided attacking threat
Kerkez has 1 goal and 2 assists so far and with one of Bournemouth’s many strengths being their attacks down the wings, Kerkez has relished this opportunity.
With 42% of The Cherries’ attacks coming down the left-hand side and away from home this stat being 44%, Kerkez and Marcus Tavernier have contributed a large proportion of the South-coast side’s attacking threat.
Will the Cherry pop at Old Trafford?
When thinking of angles for this one I am firstly drawn to the sheer amount of late goals Iraola’s side have managed to score.
Their total of 9 in the 80th-90th minute is two more than the next highest which is Manchester City and they have scored 3 goals after the 85th minute 3 times in the last 2 PL matches alone.
That brought the “which half most goals” and 2nd half total goals markets into consideration, but there was no stand-out value available to see.
Too much risk in backing Bournemouth to score the last goal
bet365
are offering the best odds of 8/5 on Bournemouth landing the last goal of the match. With this being the case in their last 5 consecutive games, it would be hard to argue against The Cherries making it a 6th game in a row.
However, I am just steering clear of this one seeing as United have themselves struck the final goal in 5 of their last 6 fixtures across all competitions and in each of the last 5 games on home soil.
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Over 1.5 away goals at 17/10 with Ladbrokes
Another intriguing bet is the Bournemouth-Draw double chance, a general Even money shot there will be plenty of takers there.
Given the current run of form and that Bournemouth have failed to score just once in their last 10 games gives me confidence they can get a result at Old Trafford, against a still inconsistent United team.
Moreover, Iraola’s men have avoided defeat in 11 of their 16 games this campaign, and away from home this has been the case in 5 of their 8 games. The Red Devils have failed to win in exactly half of their 8 home PL games and 10 out of their 16 matches this term.
These odds could well pay off but I believe it’s better value in backing 17/10 that Bournemouth score over 1.5 goals with
Ladbrokes.
Top tip: Kerkez over 0.5 shots at 13/10 with BetMGM UK
My main selection is for the aforementioned Milos Kerkez to have a shot at goal during the match. The Cherries have averaged the 2nd highest total number of shots per game with 16.9, with only Manchester City averaging more with 17.6.
Furthermore, away from the Vitality Stadium Bournemouth have averaged the most shots at goal per game with 15.9. So clearly, a shoot-on-sight policy and a fearless attitude are how they approach games when they’re the visitors.
Kerkez is 13/10 with
BetMGM UK
to have a shot in the game and this has good value for me. He’s had a shot in 2 of his last 4 games and scored an absolute wonder goal against Wolves recently.
With almost half of the South Coast side’s forages forward coming down his side, coupled with the number of shots they have at goal whoever the opposition, I feel this one has a great chance of paying dividends and should be even money at best.
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Bet £10 & Get £40.
Manchester United vs Bournemouth Best Bet
- Market:
Player Total Shots
- Selection:
Milos Kerkez Over 0.5
- Odds:
13/10
- Stake:
1pt
- Bookie:
BetMGM UK
- Market:
Total Away Goals
- Selection:
Over 1.5
- Odds:
17/10
- Stake:
0.5pt
- Bookie:
Ladbrokes
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