United travel to the South Coast in our longest away trip of the season for our Premier League opener and Jose Mourinho's first competitive match in charge.
Last season's visit to the Vitality Stadium ended in embarrassing ignominy for the Reds but, having ended the 2015/16 campaign with a win against the Cherries, United will look for a better outcome this time around from the 504-mile round trip.
They will have to do so without record £89 million signing Paul Pogba, however, with the Frenchman banned after an accumulation of bookings with Juventus which has been carried over to the Premier League by the FA.
United's other summer purchases- Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Eric Bailly and Henrikh Mkhitaryan- are all expected to make their competitive debuts.
Chris Smalling is also suspended due to his sending off in the FA Cup final and subsequent one-match ban that did not include last week's Community Shield victory.
Mourinho is expecting a difficult test for his new-look team, and said:
"They have the same manager and more or less the same players that came from the Championship and didn't change the way they play.
"They were favourites to be relegated but they stayed in the league, are a good stable team and will make a difficult match for us.
"We feel we are a candidate to win the title- if at the end of the season, somebody who is champion has been better than us then we can accept that- that is football- but in this moment Manchester United, we cannot speak differently.
"We are going to fight for the league title, that I can promise you."
This time 12 months ago Bournemouth were about to embark on a first ever Premier League campaign - a remarkable journey for a club which almost dropped into the Conference six years ago.
They will have been more than happy with a 16th-placed finish- a feat that perhaps didn't get the credit it deserved - despite lengthy injury layoffs to key players as they finished on 42 points with 11 wins to their name.
As one of the most highly rated young bosses in the country, 38-year-old Eddie Howe was even linked with the England job earlier in the summer but stayed at the Cherries to guide them into their second top flight season.
Referee: Andre Marriner
Match odds: Bournemouth 7/2 Draw 13/5 United 5/6
Premier League title odds: City 9/4 United 11/4 Chelsea 5/1 Arsenal 6/1 Leicester 28/1
France international Paul Pogba said the "time was right" to return to Old Trafford after completing his world-record £89 million transfer to United.
The 23-year-old midfielder returns after four years away, having left the club for Juventus for £1.5 million in 2012.
Pogba, who signed a five-year deal, added:
"This is the right club for me to achieve everything I hope to."
Manager Jose Mourinho said the France international could be the "heart of the club for the next decade".
United will pay the Serie A champions 105m Euros for Pogba, plus 5m Euros (£4.5m) in performance-related bonuses and other costs.
It surpasses Gareth Bale's £85 million move to Real Madrid from Spurs in 2013 as the biggest transfer deal in the history of the sport.
The announcement was made shortly after midnight on Tuesday with a glossy video showing the player, with a red devil marked into his hair, emerging from the shadows.
Pogba, who helped France reach the Euro 2016 final, has won the Italian title in each of his four seasons at Juventus.
He is Mourinho's fourth summer signing at United, following in the footsteps of Eric Bailly, former Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Armenian Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
It will be the first time in 20 years that an English club has paid a world-record fee, Alan Shearer's £15 million move to Newcastle from Blackburn was the last.
Pogba joined United from Le Havre in 2009 as a 16-year-old but was left frustrated having made just a handful of first-team appearances before his contract expired in 2012.
Speaking to MUTV, he added:
"I just came back to Carrington, it was like I'd just come back home.
"I went on holiday after the European Championships and then the deal was worked on when I came back."
In a series of messages to Juventus supporters, Pogba said:
"Goodbye means nothing, it is the time we spent together that matters, I will bring with me a piece of you and leave you with a little piece of you." the Frenchman said in a leaving statement.
At Mourinho's first United press conference on 5 July, he said he wanted to sign four players and had secured three.
Many believed the fourth was Pogba.
But it has taken more than a month since then for the Portuguese to get his man.
Four days later, United officially declared their interest amid rumours the player preferred a move to Real Madrid.
On Saturday, Juve boss Massimilliano Allegri summoned Pogba to training, but just a day later United announced the player would have a medical- and on Monday he arrived in Manchester.
It took until the early hours of Tuesday BST for the deal to finally be completed in a transfer of a world star in his prime with unfinished business to return home.
#Pogback
Paul Pogba's talent has been in evidence for years- that was why the Reds signed him from Le Havre in 2009 when he had already captained France's Under 16 team.
Now 23, he has a tendency to drift in and out of matches - he was not a consistent perfomer at Euro 2016 and did not appear to relish the deeper role given to him by coach Didier Deschamps when France lost to Portugal in the final.
Pogba is not the finished article but the promise United first identified seven years ago is showing signs of being fulfilled, more than enough to persuade the club to potentially pay such a massive fee.
It is tempting to say that if a club spend going on £100 million on a single player, the system fits around him, not the other way round, but modern football does not usually work like that.
Even the best players can struggle without a structure or if they are played out of position.
It is still a source of bewilderment to staff at United as to why Angel Di Maria was so chronically alienated by former manager Van Gaal.
The previous record signing at £59.7 million was used as a holding midfielder or wing-back by the bizarre Dutchman having begun his Old Trafford career with three goals and three assists from his favoured offensive position.
Pogba is a rarity in the modern game in that he is capable of both attack and defence, he is quick, has energy and can tackle.
Though not a prolific scorer, his average of one goal every five games suggests he will be an attacking threat.
In short, he is the kind of player United have lacked since Roy Keane left in 2005 but without the fiery temper.
Mourinho will surely put him in the centre of his midfield and set his side up from there.
Wayne Rooney, for all his attributes, is no speed merchant.
Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Memphis Depay definitely are, making them better suited to wide positions.
If the plan is to play Henrikh Mkhitaryan wide, or deeper in midfield, there is an obvious place in the side for Rooney at number 10.
But is that going to get the best out of the talented Armenian? Mourinho likes his central midfield to contain aggressive, athletic players such as Claude Makelele and Michael Essien in his first stint at Chelsea.
Pogba is in that mould.
Morgan Schneiderlin and Daley Blind could work effectively alongside him.
If that happens, the uncertainty over Rooney will persist.
That the questions and doubts are so numerous come as a result of both our fifth-placed finish and the often awful performances that contributed to it.
Until they wake from the post-Ferguson slumber, the minutely forensic analysis of United and our players will go on.
Jose Mourinho began his reign as United manager with silverware- albeit only the Community Shield- as Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored a late header to beat league champions Leicester at Wembley.
Jesse Lingard- who scored the final goal of the Louis van Gaal 'era' in the FA Cup final back in May- put United ahead with a superb solo goal just beyond the half hour mark.
Marouane Fellaini- whose future at the club must surely now be in doubt with the imminent arrival of Paul Pogba- let Claudio Ranieri's side back into the game when Jamie Vardy latched on to his dreadful back pass to score.
But summer signing Ibrahimovic- typically- had the last word seven minutes from time when the 34-year-old rose to meet Antonio Valencia's cross to head in beyond Kasper Schmeichel via a post.
It took less than a minute for the United fans to start chanting their new boss's name, but it is going to take a lot longer for Mourinho to make this team his own even with his recent signings.
The Portuguese warned this week that it would take time to revitalise the players following two years of former manager Van Gaal's regimented safety-first style, and he was right.
Despite Lingard's fine individual effort, a continuing lack of creativity remains United's most obvious failing but the arrival of Pogba- along with Zlatan and fellow signing Henrik Mkhitaryan, will be expected to change that.
Ibrahimovic saw little of the ball in the Leicester box until he got the winner with only his second effort on goal and his partnership with Wayne Rooney is clearly still in its infancy.
At the back, Eric Bailly made a solid start to his United career but is still learning his craft in English football- he was booked for a clumsy challenge on Vardy and could easily have had another for bundling over Shinji Okazaki.
Mourinho admitted it was not "a fantastic performance" and felt his side need to be fitter.
"The first half performance was much better than the second, the team isn't fit enough yet.
"Leicester increased the pace, they had three quick players and changed the game.
"It's an important victory as you always want to start with a win, but we have a lot of work to do.
"I would not be ambitious if I said it was fantastic performance- it wasn't- but we have a trophy and that is important."
United Faithful Man of the Match: Eric Bailly
United are on the brink of re-signing French international Paul Pogba from Juventus in a world record £89 million deal.
The Reds will pay 105 million Euros for Pogba and performance-related bonuses and other costs could see that figure rise.
The midfielder will have a medical in the next few days with the deal due to be completed this week.
The 23-year-old, who left Old Trafford for £1.5 million in 2012, is set to return for a fee that will surpass Gareth Bale's £85 million move to Real Madrid three years ago.
Pogba's imminent arrival was announced just over 90 minutes before Sunday's 2-1 Community Shield win over Leicester.
United boss Jose Mourinho said after the game that United is the "perfect club" for Pogba.
"We have everything to offer him and we know the reasons why he wants to come to us.
"He can come because he knows the club, knows the city, many of the players and he will be an important part of our project, he is perfect for us and we are perfect also for him.
"I don't think that Real were upset when they broke the ransfer record twice with Bale and then Cristiano- so it is a reason to be prou."
"Football is crazy and the market has also become crazy- what is expensive and not expensive in football?
"I don't know but I do know that he is a big talent and I am delighted to secure his services."
In four seasons at the Italian champions, Pogba- who helped France reach the Euro 2016 final- won four Serie A titles and becomes Mourinho's fourth United signing.
It is the first time in 20 years that an English club will have paid a world record fee.
Newcastle United were the last to do so when they spent a paltry £15 million signing England striker Alan Shearer from Blackburn.
Pogba joined United from French club Le Havre in 2009 as a 16-year-old but made only a handful of appearances before his contract expired in 2012.
He became frustrated by a lack of opportunities at the club and left for £1.5 million but has since developed into one of the finest midfielders in the game with a host of Europe's top clubs keeping tabs on the Frenchman.
He has made 178 appearances for Juventus, scoring 34 goals, and helped the club to reach the 2015 Champions League final.
Having now brought in a player for each position- apart from a keeper- Mourinho will hope that he has found the final piece of his United puzzle ahead of the season's big kick-off at Bournemouth next weekend.
77 days after lifting English football's greatest domestic cup, United return to Wembley to face Premier League champions Leicester for this season's curtain raiser on Sunday.
The Reds 2-1 triumph over Crystal Palace back in May will still be fresh in the minds of many as Jose Mourinho targets silverware in his first competitive match in charge of 20 time Shield winners United.
Last season could not have been a bigger contrast to Leicester's previous campaign.
Having executed a miraculous escape from relegation in 2014/15, they parted ways with boss Nigel Pearson and were again tipped as favourites for the drop.
Instead, incoming manager Claudio Ranieri moulded together an unheralded side of free transfers and journeymen players to send the fans at the King Power into dreamland and the rest is history.
Eric Bailly, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Henrikh Mkhitaryan look set to make their official debuts - with Paul Pogba waiting in the wings - but Chris Smalling is suspended following his red card in the Cup final.
Ranieri has a fully fit squad to pick from with new signings Ahmed Musa, defender Luis Fernandez and Polish international winger Bartosz Kapustka expected to feature for the first time for the Foxes.
Leicester have managed to keep hold of the majority of their title winners, with Riyad Mahrez and 24-goal forward Jamie Vardy staying put despite both reportedly being the subject of bids from Arsenal, but influential playmaker N'Golo Kante has signed for Chelsea.
While still an honour in the English game, many see the Shield as nothing more than a competitive and high-profile friendly but both managers will be going all out to win Sunday's season opener.
"I think especially for the players that were involved in last season, it must have a meaning, to play in the Community Shield you need to be a champion or you need to win the FA Cup, and they won the FA Cup so of course we are going to try and win it" explained Mourinho.
"I think we have to face it as a game, of course we can have six changes instead of three so that gives me the chance to give minutes to some players.
"We need to train, we need to play, we need minutes for the players"
"It also gives me the opportunity to play with those than cannot play 90 minutes, because they have no condition to play for 90 minutes, so it will be a little bit of everything" added the boss.
South Yorkshire referee Craig Pawson will be the man in the middle.
Wayne Rooney's testimonial match against his former club Everton will take place on Wednesday to mark the first in a series of fundraising events by the United and England skipper.
The match will give fans a first chance to watch Jose Mourinho's new-look outfit at Old Trafford in what will be a first pre-season fixture on home turf for two years.
The FA Cup - won in dramatic style in May - will also be on display during the match.
Paying tribute to Rooney, Mourinho praised the loyalty and longevity of his captain, and said:
"Wayne is and has been England's best player for over a decade and this game will be a fitting tribute to everything he has achieved.
"I'm looking forward to what will be a very special night for us both and I'm sure the fans will make this a memorable occasion and help Wayne to raise a lot of money to help support vulnerable children and young adults."
All proceeds from the testimonial match, celebrating Wayne's 12 remarkable years with United since his then-record transfer from Everton as a teenager, will be distributed through the newly-launched Wayne Rooney Foundation to four chosen charities (the NSPCC, Claire House Children's Hospice, Alder Hey Children's Hospital and the Manchester United Foundation.)
Each has been personally selected by the man himself because of his commitment to the organisations and the children they help.
Money raised by the Foundation will enable each charity to create legacy projects providing expert help for a generation of children faced with health conditions, abuse and educational difficulties.
Rooney said:
"For me, there could not be a more special testimonial match as United and Everton are the only clubs I have ever played for as a professional and both have a place in my heart.
"I owe United and Everton everything for giving me football opportunities and through the Wayne Rooney Foundation I want to give something back and say a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported and helped me throughout my career.
"Having a young family of my own makes me realise it's vital that every child and young person gets the opportunity to grow up surrounded by love and support to give them a chance of fulfilling their potential."
The match will provide a spectacular lift-off for a testimonial year of fundraising by The Wayne Rooney Foundation with other events set to be announced in due course.
Wednesday's match is a 2000 GMT kick off and is the last of United's pre-season programme with attention set to turn to Sunday's domestic Community Shield curtain raiser against Premier League champions Leicester City at Wembley.
