Bournemouth host in-form Manchester United aiming to extend their unbeaten run, backed by strong Friday night form and recent success in this fixture. With four straight draws and solid defence, history and stats offer hope of another positive result.
Bournemouth are back in action under the lights at Vitality Stadium on Friday in their last match for three weeks! Manchester United are the visitors, and they arrive in sparkling form - yet despite that, we've uncovered some statistics which may provide some hope that the unbeaten run can continue.
Consecutive Clean Sheets?
Bournemouth are looking to keep three consecutive clean sheets in the Premier League for the first time since November 2019, when they had two goalless draws followed by a 1-0 win against Manchester United. Overall they’ve kept nine clean sheets this season, only keeping more in the top-flight in 2016-17 and 2018-19 (10).
This stat is the dream ticket for any superstitious Cherries supporter that might use previous encounters to provide a gauge of what is to come. The 1-0 match in question came when Joshua King skilfully netted the winner on the stroke of half time, in a clash which is one of the more "forgotten" wins over United over the years.
Friday Night Success
Bournemouth have won three of their four Friday night games in the Premier League, with the exception being a 4-2 loss at Liverpool in the opening game this season.
Games under the lights always hit different at Vitality Stadium, but Friday games definitely have a little bit more gravity because they are at the very beginning of the footballing weekend, with all eyes around the nation on the clash. Floodlights naturally create a more dramatic setting, but equally evening kick-offs bring a different vibe as people have had all day to build anticipation (and a few pints don’t hurt either).
The Friday record is strong, and includes some memorable moments - the first which springs to mind is a fantastic 3-1 win at our noisy neighbours Southampton, a comprehensive victory, which sadly was the pre-cursor to a Covid-hit relegation season.
The Draw Specialists
Bournemouth have drawn each of their last four Premier League games, three of which have been goalless. The last side to draw five consecutive matches in the competition were Fulham in December 2020/January 2021.
Cherries like to be record breakers, however it would be "so Bournemouth" to join the Cottagers with regards to this particular stat. They seem to have been our divisional stablemates for what feels like an eternity, and we're always close together positionally in the table too.
Bournemouth's goal-sprees against United
Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last five Premier League games against Manchester United (W2 D3), scoring more goals in these five (13) than they did in their first 12 against the Red Devils in the division (10).
Admittedly, scoring four at Old Trafford in our last outing helps this statistic come to fruition somewhat, but there is something in United's style of play of late that has made them more open and gettable. Cherries have managed to beat United when they have had Van Gaal, Solskjaer, Ten Hag and Amorim in charge - so why not add Michael Carrick to that list?