Manchester United have played four matches since their last Premier League fixture and have made great strides in making Jose Mourinho's first season at the club a successful one.

Successfully navigating their way through the FA Cup and UEFA Europa League, they also lifted the EFL Cup in a massive triumph over Southampton at Wembley last week.

Now they return to their bread and butter, looking to make headway in their quest for UEFA Champions League qualification in the top four.

They welcome Bournemouth to Old Trafford in the early kick-off on Saturday and a win would move them temporarily ahead of the rest of the weekend fixtures, putting pressure on both Liverpool and Arsenal to pick up all three points in their match-up.

One man in excellent form this season for the Red Devils is Juan Mata. The Spaniard is having one of his best seasons so far and has been a key part of the long unbeaten streaks under Mourinho.

Here are THREE reasons why Mata could again be the vital man vs Bournemouth...

He's already netted against them this season

Juan Mata scored Manchester United's first goal of the Premier League season and it came against Bournemouth on the opening day. Capitalising on chaos in the Cherries defence, Mata chased the ball with determination to finally find the ball at his feet to knock home.

It's one of six goals for the Spaniard this season already, matching last season's tally in just over half the amount of games played.

Mata will likely be deployed on the right wing, where he's performed most consistently for United this season and has the ability to expose Bournemouth's likely left-back Charlie Daniels.

He's scored in his last two Premier League starts

Bournemouth will be looking to frustrate Manchester United for as long as possible at Old Trafford on Saturday, hoping that if they can hold out long enough it will frustrate the home supporters and create tension in the performance of Jose Mourinho's side.

If the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Anthony Martial weren't threatening enough, United can also call upon Juan Mata to provide the cutting edge, who has scored on his last two Premier League starts for the club.

His last, at home to Watford was the vital opener, committing himself into the box to get on the end of Martial's slick cross.

Significant attention has to paid to the likes of Ibrahimovic and that creates space for a 'less threatening' stars such a Mata to cause the damage.

His shot accuracy is league leading

As this data from Squawka shows, the Premier League players that have attempted more than 30 shots this season, Juan Mata stands alone as the league's most accurate marksman, getting a massive 72% of his efforts on target. That means Bournemouth goalkeeper is likely to have a busy game should United effectively bring Mata into the game and into range of the goalmouth.

With 35 shots at goal this term so far, he may not be as prolific as the excellent Zlatan Ibrahimovic in getting a shot away, who has attempted 103 shots, but United fans know that close to 3 times out of 4 attempts, Mata will work the goalkeeper.