Manchester United have little time to dwell on their derby defeat to Manchester City as they prepare to welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho's side saw their title hopes fade significantly when they lost 2-1 at home to City, but they will need to bounce back straight away with a win against the Cherries.
While Pep Guardiola's side have pulled 11 points clear at the top of the table, just three points separate United from the chasing pack, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal not far behind.
| Game | Manchester United vs Bournemouth |
| Date | Wednesday, December 13 |
| Time | 20:00 GMT / 15:00 ET |
TV CHANNEL & LIVE STREAM
The game is not being shown live in the United Kingdom (UK), but viewers will be able to watch highlights on BBC's 'Match of the Day' programme. Alternatvely, you can follow live updates on Goal.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| BBC (highlights) | N/A |
In the United States (US) , the Premier League can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial).
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
SQUADS & TEAM NEWS
| Position | Man Utd players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Romero, De Gea, Pereira |
| Defenders | Lindelof, Jones, Rojo, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Valencia, Tuanzebe, Darmian |
| Midfielders | Mata, Lingard, Young, Herrera, Mkhitaryan, Matic, Fellaini, Mitchell, McTominay |
| Forwards | Lukaku, Ibrahimovic, Martial, Rashford |
Paul Pogba is out of the game as he serves a suspension, but Marouane Fellaini is nearing a return to full fitness and could feature.
Mourinho may opt to change things in defence with Marcos Rojo sustaining a head injury against Man City. Victor Lindelof replaced the Argentine, but Phil Jones could also come into contention.
Michael Carrick and Eric Bailly are not ready for a return either.
Potential Man Utd starting XI: De Gea; Lindelof, Smalling, Young, Valencia; Matic, Lingard, Mata; Rashford, Martial, Ibrahimovic.
| Position | Bournemouth players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Boruc, Ramsdale, Begovic |
| Defenders | Francis, S. Cook, Ake, Daniels, A. Smith, Simpson |
| Midfielders | Gosling, Surman, Pugh, Arter, Stanislas, L. Cook, Hyndman, Mahoney, Fraser, Ibe, Butcher |
| Forwards | Afobe, Wilson, King, Defoe, Mousset |
Adam Smith is available for selection again after serving a suspension, but Tyrone Mings and Brad Smith are likely to miss out due to back and knee injuries respectively.
Potential Bournemouth starting XI: Begovic; Francis, S. Cook, Ake, Daniels; Fraser, Surman, L. Cook, Stanislas; King, Defoe.
BETTING & MATCH ODDS
Manchester United are deemed favourites to win by dabblebet , who price the Red Devils at 2/7, while Bournemouth command odds of 10/1. A draw at Old Trafford is rated a 9/2 bet.
Romelu Lukaku has not scored in the Premier League since mid-way through November, but the Belgian remains the favourite to score first at 9/4. Jermain Defoe bagged two on his last outing against Crystal Palace and the 35-year-old is rated 10/1 to open the scoring.
GAME PREVIEW
Manchester United may well have blown their title hopes by losing to Manchester City on Sunday, but that notion was reduced to a secondary consideration in the immediate aftermath of the game as an unseemly melee erupted in the Old Trafford tunnel, with Mourinho right in the middle of it.
Details of the altercation soon became known and the headlines were subsequently dominated by the Manchester derby kerfuffle instead of the fact that the Red Devils were seemingly out of the title race, giving Mourinho sufficient cover under which to hide.
The Portuguese conceded that the league race was 'probably' over, but there is still plenty of pressure on him to guide his team to a second-place finish at least, so they must move on quickly from Sunday's disappointment and drama when they face Bournemouth.
United are nervously looking over their shoulder at a chasing pack that includes Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham, and the complexion of the top six could alter considerably between now and the new year.
Chelsea are just three points behind, while Liverpool are five off, and with six games to play in all competitions before the year is out, United will need to ensure they pick up points as the fixture list intensifies.