Preview: Bournemouth v Manchester United
Match details: United’s first game of the new Premier League campaign kicks off at 13:30 BST on Sunday, with the match being broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports.
MUTV subscribers can watch the game in full from midnight that evening. You can also keep up with all the action as it happens via ManUtd.com's live match blog and by following our
official Twitter account @ManUtd.
Setting the scene: A trip to the seaside is in store for United on the opening weekend of the 2016/17 season. Fresh from last weekend's
Community Shield win over Leicester City, Jose Mourinho and his players have been training hard as they put in the final preparations ahead of the big kick-off. United have faced Bournemouth only 10 times in all competitions and Sunday's match will be just the third league clash between the two sides.
Who'll play for the Reds? It's an intriguing question. Mourinho is putting the finishing touches to his squad, with
Paul Pogba completing a world-record transfer on Tuesday to become the Reds' fourth signing of the summer.
Paddy McNair and Donald Love left for Sunderland on Thursday and the manager has indicated there will be more outgoings before the transfer window closes on 31 August. Two of the new arrivals, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Eric Bailly, played throughout the victory at Wembley, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan making a late appearance off the bench, but it remains to be seen whether that team is a firm indication of how United will line up for the league opener.
View from the dressing room:
Michael Carrick told
MUTV on Thursday that he expects a tough game on the south coast. "The league is now so close in terms of the teams that you expected to beat five or six years ago," he explained. "Now that is not the case – not just with us but a lot of teams, as there were results you just couldn’t predict [last season]. Bournemouth away is not an easy start; they are a good team and obviously beat us there last year. But we are in a different situation with a different team and we’re looking forward to it. We can’t wait to get started."
Last meetings: The most recent encounter with Bournemouth was the final Premier League game of the 2015/16 season, as the Reds cruised to a
3-1 win in a rearranged fixture at Old Trafford, with goals from Wayne Rooney, Marcus Rashford and Ashley Young. The
last visit to the Vitality Stadium went far less smoothly, however, as United were a goal down in just the second minute. Although Marouane Fellaini’s strike levelled the scores, a second-half goal from former Red Joshua King was enough to secure all three points for the hosts.
Story of their season: Bournemouth, who were playing in the top flight for the first time last term, will have been more than happy with their 16th-placed finish in the Premier League. Despite lengthy injury lay-offs for a number of key players, the Cherries surprised several teams and won 11 matches, notching a total of 42 points. But their defence was one of the leakiest in the division, with only last-placed Aston Villa conceding more than their 67 goals.
A word from the opposition: Talking earlier this week, Bournemouth full-back
Charlie Daniels was looking forward to the visit from United. "It's Jose Mourinho's first [league] game and they're obviously bringing their new big names to the stadium, which is great," he said. "We're eager to recreate the scenes from last year; it was a very important game in our season."
Opposition manager:
Eddie Howe has been in charge of the Cherries since he returned to the club for his second spell in 2012. Something of a club legend, Howe has managed the club in all four of divisions of the Football League, saving them from the brink of extinction in his first season of management. He rejoined the club when they were in the League One relegation zone and managed to guide the team to promotion that same season. Shortly after, Eddie oversaw another promotion, taking Bournemouth to the Premier League for the first time in their history. As one of the top young managers in the country, Howe was even linked with the England job this summer and, despite other interest, appears to be staying put for the time being.
Who’s their star man? Injury meant he played just seven matches last season but
Callum Wilson still finished as the club’s joint-second top scorer. The English striker arrived from Coventry in the summer of 2014 and netted 20 times on his side's way to winning the Championship title. Now hoping for an injury-free campaign, Wilson will be expecting to fire the Cherries to another successful season.
Did you know? Former Red
Ted MacDougall, who joined United from the Cherries in 1972, holds the record for the most goals scored by a player in a single FA Cup tie. In 1971, while playing for Bournemouth, MacDougall put nine past Margate in an 11-0 first-round win at Dean Court.
Rivals watch: The full programme on the opening weekend of the Premier League season reads:
Saturday 13 August (15:00 BST unless stated)
Hull City v Leicester City, 12:30
Burnley v Swansea
Crystal Palace v West Bromwich Albion
Everton v Tottenham Hotspur
Middlesbrough v Stoke City
Southampton v Watford
Manchester City v Sunderland, 17:30
Sunday 14 August
Bournemouth v United, 13:30
Arsenal v Liverpool, 16:00
Monday 15 August
Chelsea v West Ham United, 20:00
If Mkhitaryan had integrated better, I would have no doubt. And Mourinho starting Mata at #10 might send some wrong signals for a player he might not care so much.
