Man United face Bournemouth in the Premier League tonight as they aim to strengthen their grip on third place.

Manchester United face Bournemouth tonight in their final match before a 24-day break. The Reds will be confident heading into the fixture after beating Aston Villa 3-1 at Old Trafford last Sunday. That win opened up a three-point gap between themselves and the chasing pack.

Michael Carrick confirmed Patrick Dorgu (hamstring), Matthijs de Ligt (back) and Lisandro Martinez (calf) would not feature as they continue their recovery. Martinez is expected to return when United face Leeds. Mason Mount was in the matchday squad last week but is not fit enough to start tonight.

Noussair Mazraoui missed training in midweek due to illness. However, Carrick is confident he will be fit for the game on the south coast. This is how our United writers think United should line up tonight:

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Tyrone Marshall

It really feels like we’re basically picking from 13 players at the moment. With De Ligt and Martinez out, the centre-backs pick themselves and Shaw will start every Premier League game this season if he stays fit.

It’s a toss-up between Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot at right-back, but I would stick with Dalot here. In midfield, Kobbie Mainoo and Casemiro are the starting partnership and there is nobody pushing them, with Bruno Fernandes pulling the strings once again.

The four-into-three equation in attack is the most interesting debate. I think this game suits a more fluid front three, so I would stick with Benjamin Sesko on the bench, but with the intention of bringing him on around the hour mark, if needed, for any of the front three. Bryan Mbeumo has dropped off a little recently, but this might be a game that suits him.

Steven Railston

It felt harsh to rotate Sesko last weekend, but the decision was vindicated by the result. Carrick will be tempted to stick with the same line-up, but Mbeumo’s level has dropped over the last few weeks, and I would name him on the bench in favour of starting Sesko.

The remainder of the team picks itself following the team news. Mazraoui will be in the squad, but there’s no reason to remove Dalot from the starting XI after the Aston Villa win.

It was encouraging to see Leny Yoro take another step in the right direction against Villa. After the game, Yoro praised his partnership with Harry Maguire, and the pair should be targeting a clean sheet at the Vitality Stadium considering Bournemouth have scored just once in their last four matches.

Jack Flintham

Considering he was ill in midweek, it would be difficult to justify starting Mazraoui ahead of Dalot. Having a consistent back four should help United as they aim for back-to-back wins.

Casemiro and Mainoo are obvious picks, as is Fernandes after another brilliant performance against Villa. I would rest Mbeumo for this one. Perhaps the break can help the Cameroon international, like it did Amad.

That means Sesko would return up front after another goalscoring cameo last weekend.