Manchester United are gearing up for their third pre-season fixture of the summer as they take on Bournemouth in the Premier League Summer Series.
After kicking off their U.S. tour with a 2-1 win over West Ham, Manchester United now shift focus to their next challenge against Andoni Iraola’s side.
Bruno Fernandes was the star of the show in the opener, scoring both goals to secure the victory for Ruben Amorim’s men — a positive step following their goalless draw with Leeds in Sweden.
With momentum building and fitness levels improving, United will be aiming to continue their upward trajectory in this latest outing.
Bournemouth, meanwhile, are heading into their fourth pre-season match and are expected to provide a stern test as both teams edge closer to peak condition.
Amorim wants to exciting United duo to build connection
United’s intensity in the last match was really promising and Amorim will want to keep that going, so there is unlikely to be many changes to the team.
Altay Bayındır is expected to stay between the sticks while Leny Yoro and Matthijs de Ligt keep their place in the backline. Ayden Heaven could be replaced by Luke Shaw, simply to give the English defender some needed match sharpness.
In the midfield, Kobbie Mainoo and Manuel Ugarte are expected to remain in the team after working very well together against The Hammers. It seems like Mainoo is fighting his way back into that deeper role.
Patrick Dorgu, who has been excellent in pre-season so far, and Amad will keep their roles on the flanks while Bruno Fernandes and Matheus Cunha operate in the no.10 roles.
Bryan Mbeumo is still not fit enough to be involved but Amorim will be hoping that Cunha and Fernandes can continue to build a relationship on the pitch.
Speaking after the pre-season opener against Leeds, the United boss said: “You can see the connection between him [Cunha] and Bruno is not there yet but it’s going to be a good connection.”
Ahead of them, Rasmus Højlund is also set to play this game as he looks to build some form ahead of the new season.
With only one change to the side, Amorim will still make substitutions in the game but this could be the first outing where we see some players complete 90 minutes as well.
United predicted XI vs Bournemouth
Bayındır, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dorgu, Fernandes, Højlund, Cunha.
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