After getting back to winning ways, Carrick and co make the trip down to Bourne's mouth to face the Cherries and, of course, another manager loosely linked with the United job because apparently that’s just a weekly tradition now — Andoni Iraola.
Friday night football as well. Lovely stuff.
The last time we had one of those, we nicked a 1-0 win against Newcastle thanks to that Dorgu volley.
But that was a different time. Different team. Different manager.
However, the objective remains the same — win, and move one step closer to Champions League football.
Predicted Lineup
Right, I’m just going to say it.
If United want to keep winning, Sesko cannot start ❌.
Yeah, I know. Sounds ridiculous considering I’ve been backing him to start recently, and honestly, he probably should be. But under Carrick, logic and selection don’t always go hand in hand.
The manager has been extremely consistent with one thing — if something works, he sticks with it. No tinkering, no overthinking, just rinse and repeat.
And right now, the false 9 setup is working.
So I don’t see that changing.
It’ll likely be Cunha or Mbeumo leading the line again, with Sesko ready to come off the bench and do his best Ole Gunnar Solskjaer impression.
With no Martinez or De Ligt, Maguire and Yoro will have to continue and honestly, I don't mind it because the pair have built a decent partnership over the last month.
Don’t fix what isn’t broken.
Approach
Honestly, just keep doing what’s been working.
Away from home, this slightly more pragmatic, counter-attacking setup has brought results, even if it hasn’t exactly set pulses racing. And at this point in the season, style means absolutely nothing.
Points do.
Mbeumo up top has quietly been effective in this system as well. He’s far better running onto the ball and attacking space than trying to play as a traditional back-to-goal striker, wrestling centre-backs and flicking things on like he’s suddenly turned into Didier Drogba.
It also solves another issue — it gets Amad into the team.
And for me, he’s the closest thing we actually have to a proper winger. He stretches play, holds width and just looks more natural out there than Mbeumo, who, let’s be honest, has always looked slightly out of place hugging the touchline.
So this setup kind of fixes two problems at once.
Now, one thing that absolutely has to improve — finishing.
If we’re being honest, Bruno could’ve broken the assist record by now if his teammates could finish their dinner.
Against Villa alone, Dalot and Sesko both had chances you’d expect to be buried. Well, maybe not Dalot because, you know why. But he still should've done better.
And then there’s the crossing.
United suddenly turned into prime Beckham against Villa, except we didn’t have an actual striker on the pitch to aim at.
Incredible deliveries into the box, consistently dangerous, and yet you’re sitting there wondering: where on earth is this when Sesko is playing?
Crosses flying in when there’s no striker. No crosses when there is one.
Genuinely, what are we doing?
That said, even without a traditional no 9, I’d still like to see that same intent. Quick deliveries, early balls into the box, put defenders under pressure instead of endlessly recycling possession until the moment’s gone.
Beyond that, it’s the usual basics.
Start with energy. Don’t sleepwalk through the first 20 minutes. Keep the intensity high and don’t drop off the second we go ahead like we’ve just completed the mission.
Do all of that, and we should be fine.
Form
Another one of the reasons I feel Sesko shouldn't start is because of one thing — the numbers.
With the false 9 system, United are unbeaten.
Sesko has started just twice under Carrick — the win over Palace (where he scored) and the loss to Newcastle. Every other game has seen the false 9 used, and in those seven matches, Carrick has won six and drawn one.
That’s not a coincidence.
It’s a pattern.
Even more interesting, 4 of Sesko’s 5 goals under Carrick have come from the bench.
Benjamin Sesko 🤝 Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
That win over Villa was massive as well. Not just for the 3 points, but because every other top 4 rival slipped up. Chelsea lost, Liverpool dropped points, and suddenly that gap to 6th is back up to 6 points.
Beat Bournemouth and stretch that to 9, and psychologically, that’s huge.
And the biggest reason we’re here?
Consistency.
We're actually top of the table since Carrick took over. From 7th to 3rd in nine games. Not always pretty, not always convincing, but effective.
I’ve criticised the style plenty — and I stand by it — but results are results. And right now, results are carrying us towards Champions League football.
Away form, however, still needs a bit of improvement.
United sit 7th in the away table, with a perfectly balanced GD — 24 scored, 24 conceded.
But draws have been the real killer to this average away record: we've drawn six already. Only Leeds and Bournemouth have drawn more on their travels.
Which is slightly concerning given who we’re about to play and their overall draw record.
Recent meetings don’t exactly fill you with confidence either.
In the last six against Bournemouth, United have won just once. Three draws, two defeats, and both of those losses were 3-0 at Old Trafford — because of course they were.
Interestingly though, no home side has won this fixture since United’s 3-0 win back in 2023.
So… advantage away team?
We’ll take it 🤷♂️.
Bournemouth
The Cherries are chaos in football form.
They sit 10th, but their games are almost guaranteed entertainment. 44 scored, 46 conceded — 90 goal involvements in total. Only West Ham and... United have been involved in more.
Basically, if Bournemouth are playing, something is happening, although when you look at some of their recent results...
The weird part is that they’re actually quite hard to beat. Iraola has only lost seven games all season, which is the fourth-fewest in the league. Only the top 3 have tasted defeat on fewer occasions.
The problem?
Draws. So many draws.
14 in total — comfortably the most in the division — including five in their last six and four in a row. Three of those were 0-0s as well, which kind of goes against the whole "entertainers" argument we discussed earlier.
They’re also on an 11-game unbeaten run, the longest in the league right now.
So yeah, not exactly the ideal opponent.
At home, the Cherries are also 10th in the home table. They have 25 points from their 15 matches and interestingly, have lost just two (the same as United) at the Vitality Stadium all season. Only Arsenal and City can boast a better record.
Their 15 conceded is also amongst the fewest in the league indicating that they are a hard side to score and indeed, beat at home.
A home record like that makes things a little tougher.
While they’ve lost Antoine Semenyo after his move to Man City — a decision which, in my completely unbiased opinion, is career-ending behaviour — Bournemouth still have plenty of quality in that squad.
Justin Kluivert, Tyler Adams, Evanilson, Marcos Senesi, more than enough to cause problems if we’re not at it.
This won’t be easy.
Prediction
I don’t think we'll lose.
But nor do I think that this will be comfortable.
It’ll probably be tight, slightly scrappy and filled with at least one moment where we all question why we support this team.
But with the momentum we’ve built under Carrick and what’s at stake, I’m backing United to get it done.
3–1 again.
Not quite prime Barca. Not even close, actually.
But efficient. Professional enough. Another step towards Champions League football.
And at this moment, that’s all that matters.
So… how many do you think we are winning by this time? 😁
Ryan Christie | Image via Bournemouth official X (@afcbournemouth)
Vitality Stadium | Image credit: Getty Images via Goal
Casemiro | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)