Bournemouth vs Manchester United Predictions & Betting Tips, Match Previews

Bournemouth began their first ever season in the top flight of English football in excellent fashion as Callum Wilson led them to a number of victories in the early stages of the campaign. However, serious knee ligament injuries to the likes of Tyrone Mings, Max Gradel, and Callum Wilson put their season on hold, with them enduring a nine match winless streak and struggling for form across the board.

Eddie Howe managed to turn this around in the second half of the season though, leading his team to the safety of a 16th place finish in the Premier League. They led the first of the relegation spots by five points in the end, which isn’t bad for a club of Bournemouth’s stature.

The arrival of Jordan Ibe for a club record fee this summer indicates that they are expecting to survive again this season, and they will be hoping to push on towards the mid-table section. They will have a much better chance of that if they can keep Gradel and Wilson fit though.

Pre-season has gone relatively well for the hosts as well. They are unbeaten since the last day of the Premier League season, with wins against Minnesota United, Cardiff, and Angers and draws against Portsmouth, Reading, and Valencia. But that defeat on the final day of the season came against none other than Manchester United.

The visitors sacked Louis van Gaal just hours after their FA Cup triumph last season, appointing Jose Mourinho as the new boss, and he has wasted no time in rebuilding the squad. 23 year old centre back Eric Bailly was the first arrival at Old Trafford, followed swiftly by Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was coming in off the back of a domestic treble winning season with PSG in which he scored 50 goals in all competitions. Bundesliga Players’ Player of the Year Henrikh Mkhitaryan then joined, and most recently Paul Pogba arrived for a world record fee from Juventus.

The arrival of such world class players means that Manchester United will be expected to challenge for the Premier League title this season, and they got their campaign off to a good start last weekend when Ibrahimovic netted the winner in the Community Shield. The performance of Jesse Lingard will have pleased Mourinho too, and it looks like he has a wealth of both established quality and upcoming talent to play with.

Bournemouth lost five of their last eight home games in the Premier League last season, and I expect them to kick the season off with a defeat too. Odds of 8/11 for a Manchester United win look excellent value for money, so I’m backing that along with a 2-1 correct score prediction at 17/2.