BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton has dropped his clear-cut scoreline prediction for Manchester United’s forthcoming Premier League clash against Bournemouth.
Manchester United will travel to Bournemouth’s Vitality Stadium on Saturday, with kick-off slated for 5:30pm UK time.
The Red Devils’ top-four Premier League ambitions for the current campaign are all but over after dropping costly points in their recent run of fixtures.
Erik ten Hag’s men are sixth in the league table with seven matches remaining, with United 11 points behind fifth-place Aston Villa and fourth-place Tottenham.
Despite a major blow to their top-four challenge, United still remain in the FA Cup and Red Devils boss Erik ten Hag could still end the season with major silverware.
United face Coventry City in the FA Cup semi-finals on 21st April at Wembley, with the Red Devils falling short of the trophy last season to Manchester City.
Ahead of the Coventry City clash, Ten Hag will be keen for the Red Devils to pick up all three Premier League points on their visit to the Vitality Stadium.
Sutton on Man Utd’s run of form so far
Manchester United have only managed two points from their last three Premier League matches under manager Erik ten Hag.
The Red Devils secured a 1-1 draw against Brentford away from home last month before suffering a shock 4-3 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in April.
United also threw a wrench in the works of Liverpool’s Premier League title challenge after securing a 2-2 draw against the Reds at Old Trafford last week.
Chris Sutton has been far from impressed with United’s recent run of form and questioned Ten Hag’s claim that his side should have won their last three matches.
Speaking in his BBC Sport column, he said: “Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag claims United should have won their past three games against Brentford, Chelsea and Liverpool, which I think is based on the fact they were ahead each time and could not see it out, but it leaves me wondering which matches he is watching.
“If you look at the Liverpool game as a whole, then they got absolutely battered. Brentford had stacks of chances too and you could argue United were lucky to get back into the game against Chelsea in the first place, when Moises Caicedo helped them out with a poor backpass.”
Sutton’s scoreline prediction for Bournemouth vs Man Utd
Bournemouth and United met earlier this season and Andoni Iraola’s men secured a convincing 3-0 win over the Red Devils at Old Trafford last December.
Sutton has backed Bournemouth to come out on top against United again, with the BBC Sport pundit backing a 2-1 scoreline for Andoni Iraola’s side.
“Bournemouth were brilliant when they won 3-0 at Old Trafford in December, so can they do the double over United? I think they will,” he continued.
“Will Ten Hag be United’s manager next season? I am pretty sure he won’t.
“I have had problems getting United scores right because they have got some excellent individual players who keep digging them out of trouble but, as we have seen, they can’t rely on that happening in every game.”