Manchester United and Bournemouth will kick off their 2023s with a clash at Old Trafford that could see the home side move up to third in the league.
Man Utd ended 2022 in style, winning their final five competitive matches of the year to move above Tottenham and into the top four.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, finished their year with 2-0 defeats to Chelsea and Crystal Palace, leaving them just four points off the bottom of the Premier League table.
Here’s everything you need to know about the upcoming match between the two sides.
Man Utd vs Bournemouth H2H Results (Last Five Games)
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Man Utd team news
After being benched against Wolves as punishment for oversleeping and showing up to a meeting late, Marcus Rashford is all but certain to return to the starting XI given his match-winning cameo, with Alejandro Garnacho likely to drop out.
The most likely change other than that is Lisandro Martinez coming back in after returning from World Cup celebrations in Argentina. If he does, Luke Shaw will most likely move to left-back with Tyrell Malacia dropping to the bench.
Diogo Dalot has returned to training after picking up an injury at the World Cup but Aaron Wan-Bissaka has performed well in his absence and so could retain his place at right-back.
Man Utd starting 11 (4-2-3-1):Â De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial.
Bench:Â Heaton, Lindelof, Maguire, Malacia, Dalot, Fred, Van de Beek, Elanga, Garnacho.
Bournemouth team news
Bournemouth are dealing with a fair few fitness issues at the moment with Neto, David Brooks, Junior Stanislas, Ryan Fredericks and Marcus Tavernier all carrying injuries that kept them out of the match against Crystal Palace last time out.
To make matters worse, Philip Billing had to be subbed off in the first half of that match after experiencing pain in his hip.
Neto could play having returned to training, but the rest look likely to be ruled out with Siriki Dembele potentially coming into the starting XI in place of Billing.
Bournemouth Starting 11 (5-3-2):Â Neto; Anthony, Smith, Senesi, Kelly, Zemura; Cook, Lerma, Dembele; Solanke, Moore.
Bench:Â Travers, Mepham, Stephens, Stacey, Pearson, Rothwell, Christie, Lowe, Marcondes
Man Utd are on fire at the moment and know that they could increase their chances of finishing third considerably with Newcastle facing a difficult game against Arsenal on Tuesday evening.
If they can beat Bournemouth and Eddie Howe’s side lose at the Emirates, Erik ten Hag’s team will move ahead with a game in hand, so they’ll be going all out to claim victory.
With how well they’ve been playing and how many injuries Bournemouth currently have, it’s hard to see the visitors leaving with a point, let alone three.
Prediction: Man Utd 2-0 Bournemouth
