Manchester United must claim three points against Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday.
United drew 2-2 with Liverpool last weekend and there are just seven games remaining to close the gap to Tottenham and Aston Villa in fourth and fifth place respectively. Erik ten Hag’s side were dominated in the first half against Liverpool, but came out fighting in the second half and could have secured a victory in unlikely circumstances.
Bournemouth left Old Trafford with a shock 3-0 win over United in December and the Cherries will be up for the reverse fixture, despite heading into the clash after a defeat. Regarding the United team news, Raphael Varane and Jonny Evans have been ruled out of the game, while Scott McTominay is also set to be absent from the squad.
Samuel Luckhurst
The Bournemouth game has to be used partly as a template for the FA Cup semi-final, particularly as that game is in eight days’ time. However depleted the defence is, United have their strongest front six available.
The back four picks itself, Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo remains the best available midfield and Antony merits a start after Rashford flagged against Liverpool.
Steven Railston
Speaking before the Liverpool game last weekend, Ten Hag essentially said Antony couldn’t start two games in the space of a few days and that it was the perfect fixture for Rashford. However, Rashford underwhelmed again and Antony looked bright when he came on in the second half, so the Brazilian should return to the starting team.
United’s midfield isn’t working and Casemiro’s drop-off has been stark. He was really poor against Liverpool, it’s time for a change and Mount should be given his place.
