Manchester United must preserve 31-year record to avoid unwanted Liverpool FC situation

Manchester United will be looking to take another giant stride towards Champions League qualification when they travel to the Vitality Stadium to face Bournemouth on Saturday afternoon.

Following back-to-back defeats, United, who defeated the Cherries 3-0 at OId Trafford back in January, got themselves back on track with a routine 2-0 win over Wolves last weekend. Goals either side of half-time from Anthony Martial and Alejandro Garnacho sealed a much-needed win for Erik ten Hag's side, who are now, at the time of writing, level on points with third-placed Newcastle United.

However, the four-point cushion that they had opened up on fifth-placed Liverpool was reduced back to one just over 48 hours later. The Merseysiders made light work of relegation-threatened Leicester City on Monday night, winning 3-0 at the King Power Stadium to move back to within touching distance of Ten Hag's troops.

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Crucially, however, United have three games left in comparison to Liverpool's two. The Reds' run to the FA Cup final meant their clash with Chelsea at Old Trafford, originally scheduled to take place in April, has been pushed back until next week, marking their game in hand.

By that juncture, Liverpool will have just one game left, visiting already-relegated Southampton on the final day of the season a week on Sunday. It means this forthcoming weekend's fixtures could have a massive say in the battle to achieve a top-four finish.

United travel to Bournemouth while Liverpool host Aston Villa, with both fixtures kicking off at 3pm on Saturday. It means that if United win and Liverpool win, they will remain just one point apart in the standings, meaning the Reds would wrap up a