Manchester United vs AFC Bournemouth Preview

Manchester United have gone five games without a win, while Bournemouth arrive at Old Trafford on Sunday having won three in a row without conceding. That contrast frames a meeting between two sides separated by a single point in the lower half of the Premier League, with the hosts 13th and the visitors 15th. United’s league record of one win, four draws and two defeats from seven games leaves them joint-top of the division for draws alongside Brentford, Leeds and Everton. Bournemouth have also won only once in the league, but their recent results suggest a side finding some momentum. With Fulham sitting 18th on five points, the margins near the bottom are thin: United are two points clear of the bottom three and Bournemouth just one. Kick-off is at 2pm GMT.

United’s last five read two defeats and three draws, and the most recent was the heaviest of the lot, a 4-1 loss away to Como in the Champions League on Wednesday. Three days earlier, they drew 1-1 at Leeds in the league. Their previous European outing also ended in defeat, 2-0 away to Atlético Madrid on 13 October, leaving them with one goal scored and six conceded across their two Champions League games in this run. The two league games before that were both 1-1 draws, at home to Tottenham at Old Trafford and away at Fulham in September. That makes three straight league draws by the same 1-1 scoreline, four goals scored and nine conceded across the five, and no clean sheet in any of them.

Three wins in a row, all at home and all without conceding — that is the run Bournemouth bring north. The latest was a 3-0 win over AC Milan in the Europa League on Thursday, and before that they beat Sunderland 2-0 in the league on 18 October. A 3-0 home win over Sturm Graz in Europe started the run. It is a sharp turnaround from what came immediately before it: a 5-1 defeat away to Chelsea on 10 October, and further back a 1-0 home loss to Liverpool in September. Across the five, that makes three wins and two defeats, with nine goals scored and six conceded, and only one goal let in at home. The schedule is the one concern, with Sunday’s trip coming three days after the Milan game while United last played on Wednesday.

There is very little between these sides across the last five meetings: one win apiece and three draws. The most recent was a 2-2 draw at Bournemouth in March, and the one before that was a 4-4 draw at Old Trafford in December 2025. United’s only win in the sample was a 4-1 result in the Premier League Summer Series in July 2025, which means they are winless in the four league meetings listed. Bournemouth’s win was a 3-0 victory away to United in December 2024, and the visitors have scored at least three goals on each of their last two league trips in this sample. Goals have rarely been in short supply either, with three of the five meetings producing four or more.

Manchester United sit 13th on seven points, one ahead of 15th-placed Bournemouth on six. A United win would take them to 10 points, level with Brentford, Leeds and Everton on current standings.

UK viewers can watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Ultra HD, with streaming via Sky Go UK, SKY GO Extra and NOW. In the USA the game is on NBCSN, with Peacock and fuboTV streaming, while Canada has it on Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada and DAZN Canada.

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Manchester United — Form

AFC Bournemouth — Form

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