By Ben Whitlock – (@BenWhitlock34)
With their second away game in a week, AFC Bournemouth travel to Manchester United tomorrow for the days early kick off game.
On the back of another defeat last week at the hands of West Bromwich Albion, the Cherries go into this fixture against United as massive underdogs.
United have won seven of their last ten league games, with the other three being draws, and are a team full of confidence after winning the League Cup last Sunday.
Ahead of the game, Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe expressed that nothing had changed within the camp:
“Motivation isn’t a problem with this squad, they are always giving their best for team and for one another. In training this week we have worked the players hard and everyone is in good spirits.
“All our players are excited for the game and are more motivated than ever. United have progressed and improved since we first played them at the start of the season, and we are aware of their strengths.”
Howe has targeted the teams defending as the main area that they need to work on in order to compete with United and to string together some results to push them further away from the relegation zone:
“Throughout the season we have been a better attacking team then defending, and we are aware of that. There is nothing wrong with the attacking side of our play, but we have got to work on defending. The main task for us against United is to stop the supply to Ibrahimovic up front and isolate him.”
Before the turn of the year, Bournemouth were 66/1 to get relegated, when they sat in a comfortable 10th place. However, now they are 4/1 to get relegated, having still not won this calendar year.
Team News
Club captain Simon Francis is still unavailable with a hamstring injury, but is likely to be back for next week’s home fixture against West Ham United.
Jordan Ibe is fit after a knee injury, but Eddie Howe will have to make a few late calls regarding other players.
Phil Jones is available for United after a month out with a foot injury.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is still an absentee due to a hamstring problem.
The match kicks off at 12:30pm tomorrow and will be broadcast live on sky sports.