A Friday night trip to Bournemouth presents a golden opportunity for Manchester United to extend their advantage in the race for Champions League football.
Michael Carrick’s men built a three-point lead over Aston Villa when the teams met on Sunday, while also furthering themselves from Liverpool and Chelsea by five and six points.
With only eight games remaining, and the focus entirely set on the Premier League, the 20-time English champions are riding the crest of a wave, with momentum almost entirely situated in the North West.
Nonetheless, they will face a challenging task at the Vitality Stadium.
The Cherries are unbeaten in the league since January 3rd and have conceded a solitary goal in their previous four domestic outings.
Andoni Iraola is a shrewd tactician and has not yet ruled out a late charge for Europa qualification, boosted by a five-game unbeaten run against their guests (Won 2, Drawn 3).
Still, these are the challenges that can define the managerial capabilities of an interim coaching team. And with seven wins from his nine games, Carrick and Co will be keen to harness their players’ European desires.
Manchester United Team News
Carrick is set to be without several first-team stars for the southern trip, with everything from illness to injury playing a frustrating toll.
Noussair Mazroui missed Wednesday’s team session, joining Lisandro Martinez as a notable absentee in the backline.
Furthermore, Patrick Dorgu and Matthijs de Ligt remain sidelined with separate long-term setbacks, as supporters continue to question the nature of the latter’s condition.
“It’s [a] similar [situation], really [with De Ligt] and frustrating for Matta,” Carrick stated on Wednesday.
“He’s obviously trying to work to get back, but it’s just the back issue, really, that’s proving difficult. We’ll keep working as hard as we can to get him back as quickly as we can.
“[Lisandro is] closer, a lot closer. He’s getting there, so after this one. I think he’ll be alright. [Dorgu] is a bit further down the line, but [Mazraoui] is just ill. He just wasn’t feeling too good today.”
Mason Mount is again available following his latest setback, and although he’s unlikely to start, his availability supplies an attacking boost.
A lack of cup participation has supplied a telling blow for first-team rotations, with Friday’s outing to be our final fixture before a 24-day break.
Inevitably, there is little to do other than bemoan the prolonged wait, but a further three points would boost confidence in a return to elite continental competition.
Few will get ahead of themselves with much football to play, and rivals having games in hand, but I would always rather accumulate points than opportunities for such.
Make no mistake, the business end of the season is a fickle time of the year, and form often goes out the window.
As Sir Alex Ferguson said 28 years ago, “If they win their games in hand, they will go ahead of us, but they will find out they start dropping points towards the end of the season, there’s no question about that.”
Predicted Manchester United starting XI: (4-2-3-1): Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Yoro, Shaw; Casemiro, Mainoo; Amad, Bruno, Cunha; Sesko.
Will Manchester United collect another three points on Friday? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or across our socials.
Photo by Mark Cosgrove/News Images via depositphotos.com.
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