Opposition guide: Bournemouth

TEAM NEWS

Potent striker Callum Wilson, who is responsible for eight of Bournemouth's 30 Premier League goals this season, will be missing for the trip to Manchester. Wilson picked up his 10th booking of the season during last week's defeat to Wolves, meaning he is serving the second of a two-game ban.

Defenders Charlie Daniels and Simon Francis are also set to be absent with knee injuries, although there was a small piece of good news for Howe this week as Joshua King returned to the starting line-up after missing out on the trip to the Black Country through injury.

FORM GUIDE

Bournemouth have lost each of their three Premier League matches since the restart, with Wednesday's 4-1 reverse at home to Newcastle following on from defeats to Crystal Palace (2-0) and Wolves (1-0). The Cherries have failed to score in the league from open play in over five hours and have taken just 11 points from 21 games since beating United at the Vitality in November - the lowest amount in the top-flight.

PAST MEETINGS

This fixture has been played out eight times at Old Trafford previously, with United winning on seven occasions, including the last meeting - a 4-1 victory for the Reds in December 2018. A double from Paul Pogba, plus strikes from Marcus Rashford and Romelu Lukaku, was enough to see off Howe's men, as United continued their winning run under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's caretaker tenure. The only time Bournemouth have escaped M16 with any points was in March 2017, when King's penalty answered Marcos Rojo's opener, meaning the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

THE MANAGER

While the arrivals of Frank Lampard and Mikel Arteta mean he's no longer the youngest manager in the Premier League, it's easy to forget that Howe is still only 42. The former Cherries and Portsmouth defender has accumulated over a decade's worth of managerial experience over two spells at the club, most famously taking them from the depths of the fourth tier to promotion to the top-flight within six years, via a short spell at Burnley. The longest-serving boss in the top-flight, Howe has long been tipped to take a job higher up the league, but all of his efforts right now are focused on keeping Bournemouth in the Premier League.

“A lot of outsiders will say we’re done, we’re finished,” Howe said prior to Saturday’s match. “But historically at this club that’s always been the way. In many different aspects we’ve been written off but we’ve managed to overcome and against the odds we’ve come through and achieved great things, we’re going to have call on all those resources now.”

ONE TO WATCH

The primary benefit to the lockdown for Bournemouth was that it allowed David Brooks to recover from the ankle injury which had looked like wiping out his entire campaign. Signed from Sheffield United in 2018, the Wales international was the Cherries' break-out star as they finished 14th in 2018/19. Brooks registered seven goals and five assists last term and, although he is still working his way back to full match fitness since the restart, he could be one of Bournemouth's primary attacking threats after the departure of Ryan Fraser on a free transfer at the end of June.

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