EPL Betting – Man U’s Last European Gasp

AFC Bournemouth (+330) at Manchester United (-128), Draw (+270)

Due to a fake bomb threat, AFC Bournemouth (11-9-17, 42 pts) and Manchester United (18-9-10, 63 pts) didn’t play their 38th EPL fixture on Sunday.  The match has been rescheduled for this Tuesday at Old Trafford (3:00 PM Eastern).

Manchester United already know they won’t be gaining an automatic berth into next season’s UEFA Champions League. Manchester City clinched fourth-place in the Premier League with a 1-1 draw against Swansea City on Sunday. But the Red Devils still need at least a draw to clinch fifth-place, which comes with a spot in the Europa League.

United are a defensive-minded team that are difficult to crack at Old Trafford. In 18 home games, they’ve allowed a league-low eight goals. They’ve only scored 24 of their own, however, and their lack of scoring has cost them points throughout the season as the team has settled for draws when wins were there for the taking.

Bournemouth don’t have anything but pride riding on Tuesday’s game. They’re safely out of the relegation zone (Aston Villa, Norwich, and Newcastle have sewed up those spots), but they can’t finish any higher than 13th in the table. Still a win at Old Trafford would be a historic achievement for a small club that could have easily been bumped from the EPL this year.

Don’t bank on that happening though. Winning requires scoring, and the Cherries’ offense is almost as bad as United’s defense is good. Bournemouth averaged just 1.2 goals per game this season while allowing 1.7. Their -20 goal differential was fourth-worst in the league.

United will come in with a bit of a chip on their shoulder as well, as they already let three points get away in the first meeting of the season, which Bournemouth won 2-1 at home. Take the home team to win by a goal.

Pick: Manchester United (-128).

(Photo Credit: Matt Janzer (MUFC v CA – Seattle, WA – July 17, 2015) CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.)