Bournemouth vs Manchester United Prediction: Quick on the draw

Manchester United continue their continental qualification mission as they head to the Vitality Stadium to meet Bournemouth (20:00 GMT, Sky Sports Main Event/Premier League). Interim head coach Michael Carrick has won seven, drawn one and lost one of his nine games during this second temporary stint in the dugout. With the team sitting third heading into this Premier League tie, the calls are growing a little louder for Carrick to be given the job permanently.

Read on for my Bournemouth vs Manchester United predictions with the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

The Cherries will be missing Tyler Adams, who went down with a training ground injury last week. Justin Kluivert is out long-term following knee surgery while manager Andoni Iraola will also have to do without Lewis Cook and Carlos Soler.

United are still missing defensive pair Matthijs de Light and Lisandro Martinez. Noussair Mazraoui missed training through illness but is reported to be fit to play on Friday. Patrick Dorgu’s hamstring injury is a longer-term concern, however.

Bournemouth vs Manchester United Odds

Bournemouth are priced at 2/1 for the home victory while United are marketed at 11/10. The draw is on-site at 11/4.

You can back both teams to score at 1/2 while Benjamin Sesko is the scoring favourite, at 9/2 to bag first.

Draw @ 11/4

To paraphrase the old Guinness advertisement; Bournemouth draw, it’s what they do. Four stalemates from their last four Premier League games have proven these cherries are tough to squash. The fact three of those draws were 0-0 speaks to a fine defence and a less-than-potent attack.

These two sides played out a draw which inverts that last sentence back in December. A 4-4 draw was breathless stuff. I still make the sides relatively well-matched. United are better at controlling games under Carrick than during the baffling Ruben Amorim tenure. Iraola has made his men watertight defensively. I reckon these respective improvements still add up to a draw on the day.

Matheus Cunha to score anytime @ 9/5

Bruno Fernandes has rightfully been receiving almighty plaudits for his unbelievable creative output this season. Benjamin Sesko has been a tonic to a Red Devils fanbase who has been short of a lethal centre forward for a while. Bryan Mbeumo has dug his side out of more than few holes in a successful debut season.

But Cunha looks like a Manchester United player all over. Not the nail-biting, responsibility-shirking image of prototypical post-Fergie malaise signing. This lad passes the ball, not the buck. He knows where to stick the thing too, with seven goals and three assists making for a promising first term in this particularly weighty uniform.

Fernandes was dominant in the win over Aston Villa, but Cunha was responsible for so much of what was good about that performance. The hard-to-read running. The constant showing for the ball. The deft touches and bravery when he received it. And the goal to top it all off. Cunha’s got his tail up and that’s bad news for Bournemouth.

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.