Kick Off: 1230, 04/03/2017
Stadium: Old Trafford
TV: Sky Sports 1
The matches have been coming thick and fast for Manchester United but we believe in the old saying that success breeds success and they are tipped to build on last week’s EFL Cup triumph by beating Bournemouth in a convincing manner, with the Red Devils 3/4 to prevail by more than one goal.
The Cherries have been dragged into a relegation battle by suffering four straight defeats and have only picked up two points from their last seven top-flight fixtures.
Trueform tips: It’s hard to make a case for Bournemouth getting anything out of this match, especially as Manchester United have also put in several strong performances in knockout competitions since their last couple of rock-solid Premier League displays.
A Look At Manchester United’s Betting Odds
Manchester United were a touch fortunate to beat Southampton 3-2 in the EFL Cup final, with several players looking heavy-legged on the lush Wembley turf following a hectic run of games which has also seen United progress in the Europa League and FA Cup competitions.
However, Jose Mourinho’s side should benefit from a rare blank midweek and can bring in experienced internationals such as Wayne Rooney, Ashley Young and Daley Blind if required after they were all unused substitutes last weekend.
One player who never seems to need a rest, though, is Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who made it an incredible 26 goals for the season with his superb double against Saints, so 9/4 for the Swedish superstar to open the scoring again here is sure to attract support from those playing up their Wembley winnings.
Another price to catch our eye is 2/1 for Juan Mata to score in a United win. The Spaniard was tactically withdrawn at half-time at Wembley to counter the threat of Ryan Bertrand overlapping down the left flank but Mourinho should be keen to get him back involved straight away and the 28-year-old did net in his side’s last two league victories.
A Look At Bournemouth’s Betting Odds
Bournemouth couldn’t take advantage of an early Josh King penalty when going down 2-1 at West Brom last Saturday and they have now leaked a worrying 23 goals in eight games.
“At the moment, the losing feeling is not great and it is not nice,” said defender Tyrone Mings. “If we keep conceding two goals a game, it is going to be difficult. You can be as good as you want attacking-wise but we need to start conceding less goals.”
Eddie Howe will at least take some comfort from the fact that the Cherries have managed to hit the back of the net in seven of their last eight league matches, so 2/1 for United to win and both teams to score has to be worth considering.
Additional stats
Last result:
MAN UTD 3-2 Southampton – Zlatan Ibrahimovic (2), Jesse Lingard
West Brom 2-1 BOURNEMOUTH – Josh King (pen)
Head-to-head: Bournemouth 1-3 Man Utd, Man Utd 3-1 Bournemouth, Bournemouth 2-1 Man Utd
