EPL: Bournemouth in Devils’ den
Man U vs. Bournemouth
Venue: Old Trafford
Kick off: 5:30PM
Manchester United host Bournemouth in the final Premier League match of 2018 this evening looking to continue their recent revival.
The Red Devils have won their last two matches since sacking Jose Mourinho, and take on a Bournemouth side coming off the back of a heavy 5-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
It will take a bit more time to determine whether Manchester United’s recent improvement is more down to Mourinho’s exit or Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s own good work, but there has been a tangible change in the atmosphere at Old Trafford since the switch was made.
United scored three or more goals on just two occasions in Mourinho’s final 23 league games at the helm, but they have managed it in both matches of Solskjaer’s tenure so far, hitting eight goals and conceding just twice in that time.
Cynics will point out that tougher tests are to come for United, whose wins have come against Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town, the latter of which saw Paul Pogba – so often criticised for playing below his potential under Mourinho – score twice in a 3-1 triumph.
Questions must be asked of the players considering how quickly they have upped their game in the wake of Mourinho’s dismissal, although it also speaks volumes for how restricted they must have felt under the previous boss.
Simply being afforded more attacking freedom appears to have given many of the players a new lease of life, although there is still work to do defensively with United having kept just two clean sheets throughout the opening half of the season.
Indeed, United have conceded 31 goals already this term – more than in the entire 2016-17 and 2017-18 campaigns – and it is the first time they have shipped more than 30 goals after 19 games.
Solskjaer’s side have so far outscored opposition in his fledgling reign, and if they manage that again today then he would become only the third manager in the club’s history to win his first three league games at the helm – after Matt Busby and Mourinho himself.
It would provide a positive end to a turbulent year, and 2019 promises to be another big one for the club with one major decision – the next permanent manager – already on the horizon.
It is a job some of the biggest names in football are understood to be keen on, although a failure to secure Champions League football next season – a goal they are currently eight points short of – could affect their ability to entice the very best to Old Trafford.
Defeat today would see United equal an unwanted club record of 10 Premier League losses in a calendar year, but there will be a lot more optimism around 2019 now than there was just a couple of weeks ago.
It has however been a difficult end to 2018 for Bournemouth, but when Eddie Howe takes stock of the year he will once again be pleased with another 12 months of progress.
The Cherries beat relegation by 11 points last season and are now 10 points better off than at the same stage of 2017-18, when they sat in the relegation zone at the halfway point of the campaign.
The fact that Howe’s side now sit 14 points clear of the bottom three means that they will be able to keep their recent form in context and not be too disheartened by a run of eight defeats in their last 10 games across all competitions.
It is not a run Bournemouth can afford to let stretch too far into 2019, but during that time they have faced every member of the top six and after today’s match the fixture list does begin to get a little kinder once again.
Even so, it will be a concern for the Cherries that even the goals have begun to dry up; after scoring in 15 of their opening 18 games of the campaign, they have now failed to find the back of the net in four of their last five outings.
Man U possible XI: De Gea, Young, Lindelof, Jones, Shaw, Herrera, Matic, Pogba, Lingard, Rashford, Martial.
Bournemouth possible XI: Begovic, Rico, S Cook, Ake, Daniels; Brooks, Surman, Lerma, Fraser, Wilson, King.