Starting XI: Manchester United vs. Bournemouth

Key points ahead of Tuesday’s Premier League match:

(1) After beating Wolves 1-0 at the Molineux stadium on Saturday, Manchester United returns to Old Trafford for Premier League action against newly promoted Bournemouth. It was a great game week for United as they moved up to 4th place as the Reds’ victory in the West Midlands was aided by Spurs’ defeat to Aston Villa. Erik Ten Hag’s men are now 2 points clear with a game in hand of Tottenham who got themselves demoted to the 5th place.

(2) United shouldn’t face any serious problems against The Cherries as they look to extend their four-game winning run. Bournemouth have conceded the most (36) till now in this Premier League and considering United’s goalscoring prowess in their recent fixtures, Ten Hag will be confident to rally his men and secure a victory at home.

(3) Manchester United have won seven of their 10 Premier League meetings with Bournemouth. The only defeats came at the Vitality Stadium which rounds up that The Reds’ have never lost at home to The Cherries.

(4) Lisandro Martinez recently returned to Carrington after winning the World Cup with Argentina and Ten Hag hopes to have him in the starting lineup on Tuesday. The Dutchman also hopes to have Scott McTominay back on the team sheet as he had been “training yesterday and today” in the manager’s words.

(5) Erik Ten Hag provided an update on the recovery progress of right-back Diogo Dalot:

“Diogo Dalot also, he is making good progress,” Ten Hag explained.

“But we don’t want to take risks with anyone because we know there are many games to come and we need a full squad to cover all the games.”

(6) Ten Hag praised Luke Shaw’s versatility in his pre-match presser:

“We have seen in the last two games [that Shaw could play left centre-back often],” Erik said to the media.

“I think he did fabulous and was impressive. But we also know he is really good as a full-back [so] it’s an extra option and [that] is always good for a team.”

(7) Bournemouth head into this game as the clear underdogs as they are on a losing rut for 4 games in a row. They are currently on 16 points, having the worst defensive record in the league and though they have pulled off a fight several times this season, they haven’t always got the fair end.

(8) Cherries head coach Gary O’Neil was without several first-team players in their 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. The sidelined players include David Brooks, Ryan Fredericks, Neto, Junior Stanislas and Marcus Tavernier. It is unsure whether they would be ready against United.

(9) Midfielder Phillip Billing remains a doubt for this fixture as he was forced off the field in the first half against The Eagles.

(10) Siriki Dembele is the man expected to replace Billing in the attacking-midfield position. Dominic Solanke and Kieffer Moore are set to operate in front of him and retain their names in the starting eleven.

(11) FPL TIP: the quick deadline has already passed for Gameweek 19, so here are a few things we can expect. Fulham and Chelsea have double matchdays and I am leaning a bit towards Fulham taking the three points when these two face each other. If you have Andreas Pereira, you are guaranteed to have some returns as he has shown consistent performances throughout the first part of the season. Haaland remains on the front and this might be a good time to switch for Kevin De Bruyne if you have Salah.

Here’s my FPL team for references: