Manchester United v Bournemouth: Preview, predicted line-ups and team news

Manchester United have not kept a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, and they have found a way not to win, too. Four draws in their first seven games have left them 15th on seven points, a long way from the Champions League places and only a point clear of Bournemouth.

Old Trafford will want more than another shared afternoon. United drew 1-1 at Leeds seven days ago and 1-1 with Tottenham at home on 10 October. Their last home win was a 5-2 thrashing of Ipswich on 30 August.

Bournemouth are the visitors and they are in no position to be picky. They beat Sunderland 2-0 last Sunday, their only win of the campaign, after a 5-1 defeat at Chelsea the week before.

United's results read like a stalemate. Across seven league games they have won one, drawn four and lost two, scoring 10 and conceding 10. Their home record is W1 D1 L1, with six goals scored at Old Trafford and four conceded. Defeat to Manchester City on 13 September, 1-0 in front of their own fans, remains the low point.

The numbers behind the results are healthier than the table. United average 19.71 shots a game, 5 of them on target, with 55.4% possession and an xG of 1.63 per match. They create plenty. They just do not defend well enough: 1.41 xG against and not one clean sheet in seven.

Bournemouth sit 17th on six points from seven games, level on points with the two sides below them who have played a game more. A first away win would take them clear of the bottom three for now, but their travelling record is poor. They have no away wins from three league games and have conceded nine in them, including the 5-1 loss at Chelsea.

The positive is their finishing at home, where they have scored five in four. Last Sunday's 2-0 win over Sunderland snapped a run of two defeats, and Marcus Tavernier has four goals this season from midfield.

United have won one, drawn four and lost two of their last seven, with four of those draws coming in their last six. Bournemouth have won one, drawn three and lost three across the same sample. Neither side has momentum to speak of. United's draws at Leeds, Fulham and Everton show a side that scores but cannot close games out, while Bournemouth's last-weekend win over Sunderland came against the side bottom of the table. The surface form flatters neither team, but United's underlying shot volume and xG suggest they are the likelier side to turn a draw into a win.

United are 15th on seven points from seven games, with a goal difference of zero. Bournemouth are 17th on six points from seven, with a goal difference of minus four. That is a one-point gap, and both sides are only a point or so above Nottingham Forest and Coventry, who are both on six points from eight games. Sunderland are bottom on four.

A United win would lift them to 10 points, level with Brentford, Leeds, Everton and Ipswich in the mid-table pack. A Bournemouth win would put them on nine and leave United looking down rather than up. The leaders, Manchester City and Arsenal, are on 21 points, so a top-four push is already a long shot for United.

United have four wins from the last 10 meetings, Bournemouth two, with four draws. Those games have averaged 4.0 goals, with both teams scoring in 60% and over 2.5 goals in 80%. The most recent meeting was a 2-2 draw at the Vitality Stadium on 20 March 2026. The Old Trafford game before it, on 15 December 2025, finished 4-4.

The pattern is clear and has been stable for two seasons: these games are open. Bournemouth won 3-0 at Old Trafford in December 2024, and the last two league visits there have each produced at least four goals. United's current defence is no more settled than it was then. The head-to-head points towards goals and a close finish, though this season's low-scoring league numbers (Bournemouth have not scored more than two in any game) argue for a modest scoreline. A 2-1 or 1-1 fits both stories.

The biggest gap is in how the sides create. United average 19.71 shots and 6.14 corners a game against Bournemouth's 15.14 and 4.71, and they hold 55.4% of the ball to 50.4%. United should dominate territory.

Bournemouth's counter is the answer to that: their xG of 1.79 per game is higher than United's 1.63, and they concede fewer chances (1.17 xG against, against 1.41). That is why this is closer than the table and the odds suggest. If United's attackers are sharp, they win. If Bournemouth hit them on the break once, the afternoon turns.

The game kicks off at 14:00 GMT on Sunday 25 October, the same morning the clocks go back. A UK broadcaster has not been confirmed for this fixture yet, and this page will be updated closer to kick-off.

The goals markets carry the value. Both teams have scored in five of their last seven league games, and 80% of the last 10 meetings produced three or more goals. The price on BTTS is short, but United's lack of clean sheets makes it the firmest angle. The bet builder leans on Bournemouth scoring and United still winning, which fits both sides' pattern.