Kris Voakes

Man Utd Team News: Injuries, suspensions and line-up vs AFC Bournemouth

Everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League clash at Old Trafford on Wednesday

Jose Mourinho and Manchester United have a lot to prove in the next few weeks following the derby defeat to neighbours City which has seen them fall 11 points off the pace in the Premier League title race.

United's performance on Sunday has attracted plenty of attention for its timidity, and only a string of more expressive displays is likely to salve the wounds of Reds supporters still smarting from the City loss.

And with Chelsea having won at Huddersfield Town on Tuesday, United need the three points against Bournemouth on Wednesday to keep some distance between themselves and the third-placed Blues.

Article continues below

MAN UTD INJURIES

Phil Jones returned to United's 18-man squad for Sunday's derby but was not called upon, despite Marcos Rojo leaving the field at half-time due to a head injury. The Argentine may well miss out on Wednesday as a result of the knock suffered in his challenge on David Silva, meaning Jones or Victor Lindelof could start in his place.

Eric Bailly appeared to be on the verge of a return from a groin injury but has suffered a setback in his recovery and is likely to be out for another six to eight weeks.

Next matches

Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned against City having sat out a couple of fixtures due to complications surrounding his recovery from a serious ACL injury and is likely to again be among the substitutes.

Michael Carrick will be given plenty of time to recover following a procedure to deal with an irregular heart rhythm but is not expected to return to play for the time being at least, while there is some hope that Marouane Fellaini might be available again after a knee injury.

Eric Bailly Jan Vertonghen Manchester United Tottenham Premier League

Getty

MAN UTD SUSPENSIONS

Paul Pogba serves the second game of a three-match suspension following his sending-off against Arsenal for a bad challenge on Hector Bellerin. United will also be wary of Ander Herrera's disciplinary record, as a booking against Bournemouth would rule the Spaniard out of Sunday's trip to West Bromwich Albion and leave Jose Mourinho scrambling for alternatives in midfield. Ashley Young is another who is one yellow card shy of a ban, while the Cherries' Steve Cook would miss the weekend clash with Liverpool if he is booked at Old Trafford.

MAN UTD POTENTIAL STARTING LINE-UP

Jose Mourinho could make a handful of changes as his team backs up from Sunday's game just three days on, meaning the likes of Ashley Young and Antonio Valencia will be considered for a rest. That could open the door for Matteo Darmian or Luke Shaw.

Juan Mata may well be recalled in the attack, while Henrikh Mkhitaryan has only featured for 20 minutes of the past seven matches in all competitions but could return to the 18-man squad. Mourinho will be hoping that Marouane Fellaini is fit for selection given his lack of options in midfield in Paul Pogba's absence.

Chris Smalling has started 16 straight games at centre-back so could be a candidate for a night off, but with Marcos Rojo potentially missing out with a head injury it may well be a shoot-out between Phil Jones and Victor Lindelof to start alongside Smalling.

Goal

BOURNEMOUTH TEAM NEWS

After a poor start to the season which saw them fall to four straight defeats, Bournemouth have regained their feet enough to start Wednesday's fixture three points clear of the Premier League drop zone. A run of three wins in four fixtures in October and November have propped up their campaign to this point, but they have yet to beat anybody higher in the table than 12th-placed Huddersfield Town.

Eddie Howe has exclusively used a three-man backline against top-six clubs so far this season, but the use of such tactics against Manchester City, Arsenal, Tottenham and Chelsea has resulted in a Cherries defeat every time. If he goes with a similar shape at Old Trafford rather than his usual back four, don't be surprised to see Jose Mourinho match up with the same formation as has been his trend in 2017.

Callum Wilson's hat-trick against Huddersfield represents his entire Premier League goals account for the season and yet he sits top of his side's scoring charts, underlining where Bournemouth's problems have been to this point. However, Bournemouth may feel they owe United a tough outing following last season's controversial 1-1 draw at the Theatre of Dreams, which led to lengthy suspensions for Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Tyrone Mings.

Bryn Lennon/Getty Images

BEST OPTA MATCH FACTS

Bournemouth have found the net at least once in each of their four Premier League meetings with Manchester United – making them the side the Red Devils have faced the most in the competition without keeping a clean sheet.
Bournemouth are one of four clubs that Jose Mourinho has faced more than once at home in his league managerial career but not beaten (D1 L1), after Burnley (D2), Genoa (D2) and Roma (D2).
Manchester United’s 40-game unbeaten run at Old Trafford came to an end in their 1-2 derby defeat to Manchester City on Sunday (now W29 D11 L1) – In fact, Man City are the only side to have defeated Manchester United at home since February 2016, doing so twice.
Manchester United haven’t lost successive home matches in all competitions since January 2014 (v Spurs in the Premier League and Swansea in the FA Cup).
Jermain Defoe has scored against Manchester United in the Premier League for both Spurs and West Ham United. Only eight players have previously scored against the Red Devils for 3+ clubs in the competition – Les Ferdinand (4 clubs), Darren Bent (4), Chris Sutton (3), Brian Deane (3), Nicolas Anelka (3), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink (3), Yakubu (3) and James Milner (3).
Marcus Rashford has now been involved in 15 goals for Manchester United this season, only Romelu Lukaku has been involved in more (17). However, Rashford has averaged a goal involvement every 93 minutes on average in 2017-18, compared to Lukaku’s ratio of 122 mins per goal involvement.
Romelu Lukaku has scored five goals in four Premier League appearances against Bournemouth, including four in his last appearance against them: a 6-3 win for Everton in February 2017.
Lukaku has scored just one goal in his last nine Premier League appearances, despite attempting 22 shots in this run – converting just 4.5% of these.