It’s been a brilliant 10 days for Manchester United. Three away victories against Partizan, Norwich and Chelsea. The boys should be full of confidence albeit in another tough away game against Bournemouth.
The doubters may say United’s last three wins have come against a third-rate European team, relegation favourites and a Chelsea reserve team, but a win away at Bournemouth would confirm United’s upturn in form and support the opinion Ole has finally found his best team and formation.
Bournemouth don’t come into this game in great form with draws against Watford and Norwich and a loss to Arsenal. 2 points out of 9 in October should add fuel to United’s growing confidence. Yet both teams enter the game with 13 points magnifying United’s poor start.
Last season, Manchester United got the double over Bournemouth with a 2-1 away victory in November followed by a 4-1 thrashing at home in December. Overall, Manchester United actually have a very good record against Bournemouth having only lost once in their 8 Premier League encounters.
Nevertheless, Manchester United cannot be careless. Bournemouth have some dangerous players including Callum Wilson and Harry Wilson. A strong spine underpinned by the ever-impressive Nathan Ake and the combative Billing and Lerma in midfield. Fred and McTominay can be expected to be in a physical battle and will need to be at their best to dominate.
At the back Manchester United seemed to be settled with Wan-Bissaka and Maguire improving the defence significantly. The only issue for most United fans remains the persistent inclusion of Ashley Young. Brandon Williams looked superb against Chelsea and with United’s strong record against Bournemouth means it could be the perfect opportunity to give Williams his first Premier League start.
United’s revival can be underpinned by Rashford’s resurgence, who has been fantastic since the game against Liverpool. The return of Anthony Martial gives Ole another option and improves United massively. With the addition of James and Andreas (another who may have finally found a home in the team) means United should cause problems for the Bournemouth defence.
Fans may start to feel United are back, but it would probably be more sensible to believe we are beginning to see the dawn of Ole’s vision. An away win against Bournemouth won’t take us much closer to City or Liverpool but it will show how far we have come since the losses against Newcastle and West Ham United earlier in the season. We need this win to bring the fanbase together and remove any doubts that Ole is the right man to lead us. Saturday is just another small step…