Tactical analysis: two changes are all that stand between United and certain victory over Bournemouth tonight

Manchester United are set to face the challenge of hosting Bournemouth in the Premier League tonight. While Bournemouth got their league campaign off to a fine start, they now find themselves winless in six matches. Still, this doesn’t mean that the visitors will be a walkover. Man United will need to keep some important principles in mind if they are to come away with three points under the Old Trafford floodlights tonight. Persistence until the final whistle During their impressive 4-1 drubbing of Wolverhampton Wanderers last Monday, United were ruthless. They remained on top of their opponents from beginning to end. In total, United took a mammoth 27 shots, making the most of their 63% possession. This greatly contrasted with United’s performance against West Ham United in the previous game. While United took 17 shots against the visitors, they took their foot off the pedal after scoring, with West Ham exhibiting more attacking momentum later in the match, as shown by the match’s attacking momentum chart. It was once United became complacent that the Hammers equalised. If there’s one clear lesson to be drawn from these past matches, it’s that one goal is often not enough to secure victory. After all, Wolves also drew level with United before the half-time break. The difference between the two matches was United’s attitude. During the Wolves game, United never took their foot off the pedal. They continued attacking even after restoring their lead in the 51st minute, rewarding their efforts with two more goals. United must remain on high alert throughout their clash with Bournemouth, as after all, one slip-up can result in a goal that changes the outcome of the match. Still, there is another issue that United must take into consideration. Concentration is key While United were clearly the better team against Wolves, this did not stop them from conceding against the Premier League strugglers. Wolves only managed to get two shots on target the entire game, yet a moment of weakness allowed them to score against United on the counter-attack. This also happened against West Ham, when the visitors scored against the run of play. Even in United’s 1-0 loss to Everton, they were dominant on paper, yet allowed a 10-man Everton the space to score the only goal of the game despite being on the backfoot. This lack of defensive concentration must be addressed by manager Ruben Amorim, and hopefully, with the return of several defenders, he can do exactly this. Noussair Mazraoui and Lisandro Martinez are both options for United, while Luke Shaw, Diogo Dalot, and Leny Yoro have all been regular performers. Of course, Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu are options at wing-back, while Ayden Heaven has been eased into first-team action. Hopefully, Amorim has been paying close attention to which players have been most impressive in training this past week. Just like he benched Yoro following his drop in form, Amorim must continue to pay attention to details when selecting his defensive lineup. After all, Bournemouth have scored 21 goals this season, five fewer than United, despite both teams playing 15 games to date. If United can simply maintain their defensive shape and not get caught off guard on the counter, then they should be able to avoid conceding silly goals as was the case against Everton, West Ham, and Wolves. Of course, concentration will be key in this endeavour. Should Amorim apply these principles, United should come away with a convincing victory. They have done a great job of building form as the season has progressed and should be more than capable of clinching three points in front of the Old Trafford crowd tonight. Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Mathew Cohen A faithful Manchester United supporter, Mathew has worked as a football writer and analyst for SB Nation, FanSided, and now The Peoples Person. Mathew’s heroes include David Beckham, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Sir Alex Ferguson, all of whom played their part in creating some special childhood memories.