Bournemouth v Manchester United Betting Tip

Sunday’s fixture will be a good chance to asses where both of these teams are after making significant movements in the summer transfer window.

Eddie Howe has chosen to bring some younger players into the squad as some of the older heads depart. 20-year-old Jordon Ibe arrives for a club record fee of £15m along with his former Liverpool colleague Brad Smith. Lewis Cook has been highly rated in the Championship for a good while now and it will be interesting to see how the 19-year-old adjusts to life in the Premier League after his transfer from Leeds United.

The most surprising exit from the Cherries has been Matt Ritchie, the Scottish international was arguably one of Bournemouth’s best players last season but he has been sold to Newcastle. Eddie Howe did good business to ship out Tommy Elphick and Lee Tomlin for a combined fee of around £6m to Championship sides Aston Villa and Bristol City respectively.

Bournemouth’s free flowing football worked a treat last season as they wowed many neutral supporters whilst still producing results. It will be interesting to see how they improve this season and whether opposition teams have worked them out or not.

Jose Mourinho’s arrival at Manchester United was the biggest talk of the summer, just ahead of Paul Pogba’s arrival from Juventus for a world record fee. Many have questioned Paul Pogba’s price in his return to Old Trafford after he left the club under a cloud in 2012 and I have to admit I am one of those who questions the fee. Very overrated player who is actually suspended for this opening fixture.

However, the signing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic on a free transfer is fantastic business. The former Sweden captain’s record is undisputed and I would back him to carry on this glittering form so far in his career into the Premier League.

Oddly, two transfers at around £30m each in Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Eric Bailly have gone under the radar. Mkhitaryan is decent business in today’s market but I think Bailly will struggle at first. Bournemouth will need to take advantage of his inexperience.

I think Manchester United will come out on top in this game as Mourinho will ensure his side are fully at the races and will not settle for complacency. Ibrahimovic was pretty anonymous in last weekend’s Community Shield match against Leicester but ended up on the score-sheet – I expect a similar performance here.

However, United’s defence was a big problem last season and I do not think Eric Bailly will be able to solve that any time soon whilst Chris Smalling is suspended. Both Teams to Score is 24/25.

See more tips here.