Manchester United vs. Bournemouth: Team News, Preview, Live Stream, TV Info
December 12, 2017
Manchester United will look to bounce back from their derby defeat to Manchester City when they take on Bournemouth at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United lost 2-1 to their rivals on Sunday and now find themselves 11 points behind in the Premier League title race, while the Cherries have drawn three of their last four league games.
Read on for a closer look at the contest, but first here is the viewing information for the game:
Date: Wednesday, December 13
Time: 8 p.m. GMT/3 p.m. ET
TV: NBC Sports Gold (USA)
Live Stream: NBC Sports Live (USA)
Team News
Paul Pogba will serve the second of his three-match ban for his red card against Arsenal.
According to Metro's Avinash Bhunjun, Michael Carrick and Eric Bailly will be absent, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Phil Jones and Nemanja Matic will be available for selection.
Per Transfermarkt, Bournemouth have been without Adam Federici, Tyrone Mings and Brad Smith in recent weeks, and so they could all be serious doubts for Wednesday's match.
Preview
All eyes will be on Romelu Lukaku at Old Trafford, provided he keeps his place in the side after a day to forget on Sunday.
The Belgium international cost United at both ends of the field.
While as a striker, he might be afforded a certain amount of leeway when it comes to defending, his failure to clear two set pieces led to both of City's goals, and he also shot straight at Ederson from close range late on when he had the chance to score an equaliser.
Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News and football writer Liam Canning were among those critical of the forward:
If Ibrahimovic is available, it would not be too surprising for manager Jose Mourinho to take Lukaku out of the limelight, though he will equally want to avoid affecting his confidence further by dropping him. It's a tricky decision for the United boss.
No matter who is up front for the Red Devils, they will be looking for an emphatic response. Although the title race may be all but over, they can still target second place and will want to stay ahead of their other rivals.
They will particularly look to capitalise on Bournemouth's defensive struggles away from home. As football stats account Orbinho noted on Twitter, the Cherries have a hard time keeping the opposition out when they're not playing at the Vitality Stadium:
Bournemouth have only lost one of their last six Premier League games, though, which bodes well for their chances of survival.
United will need to break them down without the banned Pogba, too, which enhances their prospects in this match if they can remain organised and disciplined at the back.
Lukaku's struggles aside, the Red Devils have shown a ruthless streak of late—their finishing against Watford and Arsenal was particularly clinical—so they should be capable of capitalising on any slip-ups at the back from Bournemouth, and they will expect to win here.