Manchester United are even with their local rivals Manchester City on points in the English Premier League table, but the struggles of their recent form and yet another rash of injuries has left them looking awfully vulnerable in their chase for the top spot in the Premier League right now. A loss now with Leicester City and Arsenal starting to get hot would be extraordinarily bad news for Manchester’s goals for the campaign.
Manchester United vs. Bournemouth 2015 live stream: Time, TV schedule and how to watch EPL online
Two badly-battered teams meet up as fourth-place Manchester United head to Bournemouth to face the relegation-threatened Cherries.
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Perhaps fortunately for them, they’re set to face perhaps the only team in the league that are more beat up right now, poor AFC Bournemouth. While the Cherries are riding an incredible high right now after beating Chealsea in London, their chances still don’t look very good coming into this match with so much of their team out hurt. Of course, it’s not like Manchester aren’t missing a ton of starters either -- but even a fully healthy Bournemouth would probablly have a deficit in talent to make up, and Bournemouth are far from fully healthy.
Key player -- Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United)
With so much of Manchester’s midfield hurt, suspended, or playing at less than 100% fitness, Fellaini’s energy and willingness to do whatever is needed all over the pitch will be vital in this match. His power and physcality is also a huge mismatch for Bournemouth’s smaller midfield, and he could prove a vital presence on set pieces and with his ability to crash the box to support the attack.
Key matchup -- Glenn Whelan (Bournemouth) vs. Daley Blind (Manchester United)
Manchester’s depleted back line means that Blind will almost certainly be the one tasked with containing Bournemouth’s top healthy striker, and that might actually be bad news for the Red Devils. Whelan’s old-school target man style is a terrible mismatch for Blind’s more tactical, guile-driven style, as he does not do well against more powerful strikers. If Whelan can get the better of Blind early and often, it could be a very long day for Manchester’s defense.
AFC Bournemouth injuries and suspensions
Out: Adam Federici, Lee Tomlin, Christian Atsu, Callum Wilson, Tommy Elphick, Max Gradel, Tyrone Mings In doubt: Josh King, Sylvain Distin, Marc Pugh
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Bastian Schweinsteiger, Matteo Darmian, Chris Smalling, Marcos Rojo, Wayne Rooney, Ander Herrera, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia, Luke Shaw In doubt: Morgan Schneiderlin
You can’t find two Premier League sides with more injury issues than Manchester United and Bournemouth right now, with both teams pretty well devastated all over the pitch right now. That’s not an enviable situation for anyone to deal with, and both teams will be fielding patchwork starting lineups nowhere near their full strength or potential quality.
Match Date/Time: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. local
Venue: The Goldsands Stadium, Bournemouth, England
TV: NBC (U.S. - English), NBC Universo (U.S. - Spanish), Sky Sports 1/HD (U.K.)
Online: NBC Sports Live Extra (U.S.), Sky Go (U.K.)
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