Bournemouth - Man Utd: All for Champions League tickets
With 66 points from 35 matches, Man Utd is one point ahead of Liverpool and one game less. They will face Bournemouth, Chelsea and Fulham in the remaining three rounds. In theory, all three of these teams have run out of motivation. However, the match against Chelsea promises to be difficult, because this opponent possesses a quality group of players.
Liverpool meet Aston Villa and Southampton in the last two matches. Southampton have been relegated, but Villa are aiming for seventh place to win tickets to the European Cup. They have 57 points, equal to Tottenham. This round, Man Utd and Liverpool played at the same time. If Ten Hag's teachers and students win three points and the opponent fails, the ticket to next season's Champions League is in the hands of Man Utd.
However, the psychological pressure lies on the side of Man Utd. The first season playing under the guidance of Erik ten Hag is considered a success with the "Red Devils". They maintained their place in the top four, won the League Cup and reached the FA Cup final. However, all will be meaningless if Man Utd does not return to the Champions League. Ten Hag considers this a top goal to elevate the team.
"When I look at Man Utd's project, the first important thing is to qualify for the Champions League. I haven't seen Man Utd reach that level right now, so I'm just focused on the next game against Bournemouth. has the right to self-determination and must win to return to the Champions League," the Dutch coach said at the pre-match press conference.
Ten Hag highly appreciates Bournemouth even though the opponent is only 14th on the scoreboard. Since replacing Scott Parker, initially as an interim coach and then signed on a long-term basis, Gary O'Neil has helped Bournemouth win important victories over mid-range teams, thereby helping this club to soon stay in the relegation zone with an eight-point gap. more points than Leeds - the highest ranked team in the group holding the red light.
Bournemouth do not have a good head-to-head record against Man Utd. 11 encounters in the Premier League, they lost to eight. In all competitions, Man Utd has met Bournemouth 14 times and only once failed to score against this opponent. However, that happened the last time "Red Devils" were a guest at Vitality Stadium in November 2019 when they lost 0-1.
Coach O'Neil insists the team will not be satisfied anytime soon. "I want Bournemouth to finish the season strong. At the end of the season we will look back on what we have achieved, including the last two games of the season. Meeting Man Utd at home is a great opportunity. for the players to show what they can do," he said.
Marcel Sabitzer is injured and may have played his last game for Man Utd before his loan contract from Bayern expires. The Austrian midfielder will be absent with Lissandro Martinez, Donny van de Beek, Phil Jones while Marcus Rashford and Scott McTominay are unlikely to play. As for the home team, Hamed Traore, Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier, Ryan Fredericks and Junior Stanislas are all absent.
