Man Utd vs Fulham preview, tickets, team news and predicted score

Manchester United will finish off their 2022/23 Premier League campaign when they welcome Fulham to Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon.

Erik ten Hag has enjoyed a solid first season in charge at United. The club was in disarray when he took over last year but he’s steadied the ship and shown genuine signs of real progression over the past 12 months. The Dutch boss has made United hard to beat again and Old Trafford has become a fortress, with the Red Devils currently unbeaten at home in their last 27 games.

The aim at the start of the season was to ensure United finished in the top four and won a trophy, and they have already achieved both those goals. Man Utd guaranteed a top four finish after beating Chelsea 4-1 in a thrilling game on Thursday night. Casemiro, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford all got on the score-sheet to help United seal the win they needed to ensure they’ll be playing Champions League football next season.

United also climbed to third – two points above Newcastle – so a win over Fulham on Sunday will secure third place behind Man City and Arsenal. Having already won the Carabao Cup earlier in the season, Man Utd still have a huge FA Cup final against City to look forward to. The Reds will be desperate to beat their City rivals to ensure they don’t emulate their greatest achievement – the treble – so it promises to be a thrilling final at Wembley.

If ten Hag could finish third in the Premier League and win both domestic cups, it would go down as a hugely successful season and give United a great base to build upon in the summer. Ten Hag knows he needs to add a top class goal-scorer to his ranks and if he does so, Man Utd could become genuine title contenders next season. The former Ajax boss will want to make other tweaks to his squad with another defender, midfielder and goalkeeper also on his wish-list, but there is no doubt a top marksman up front is the priority.

However, the main focus for now is finishing the season with a win but that won’t be a simple task against a Fulham side who head to Old Trafford in decent form. The Cottagers suffered very narrow defeats to Man City and Liverpool before thrashing Leicester 5-3. They then beat Southampton 2-0 at St Mary’s before drawing 2-2 with Crystal Palace last time out.

That run has secured a top half finish for Fulham and they’ll be wanting to sign-off an excellent campaign with a positive result against Man Utd to give them confident and momentum ahead of next season.

Tickets

The Reds have one of the largest and most passionate fan-bases in the world so it’s never easy to get hold of Manchester United tickets. Given this is the last Premier League game of the season, it will be even more difficult as fans will want to show their appreciation for a terrific campaign ahead of next weeks FA Cup final.

Tickets through the official club websites will be sold out by now so fans may need to use a reputable ticket reseller such as Seatsnet if they want to attend the game in person. This match hasn’t been selected for live broadcast on Sky Sports, so you’ll have to wait to watch official highlights on Sunday night if you aren’t lucky enough to have a ticket for the game.

Team news

Man Utd will assess Antony after the Brazilian was stretchered off during the win over Chelsea with an ankle injury. Ten Hag appeared to suggest in his post match interview that the injury was serious, so Antony is expected to miss the final league game against Fulham. He’ll also be a major doubt for the FA Cup final against Man City.

Luke Shaw also picked up a knock on Thursday night. Ten Hag hopes it isn’t serious but the full-back is unlikely to be risked against Fulham as they’ll have one eye on the FA Cup final.

Man Utd will still be without the services of Lisandro Martinez as the defender is still nursing an ankle injury while Donny van de Beek is also still recovering from a serious knee injury that he picked up earlier this year.

Marcel Sabitzer won’t be available this weekend as the midfielder is recovering from a knee injury. The Swiss international may have played his last game for the club as he’s set to return to Bayern Munich when his loan ends next month.

Fulham will assess Dan James as the winger is carrying a thigh injury. Tim Ream is certain to miss out with a fractured arm while Layvin Kurzawa has been ruled out with a knee injury. Andreas Pereira won’t feature against his former club as the Brazilian is still recovering from a fractured ankle.

Likely line-ups

Ten Hag may be tempted to rest a few players ahead of the cup final. However, with third place still on the line, we may still see a strong United team put out. David De Gea has already secured the Golden Glove but he’ll be hoping to keep another clean sheet this weekend.

Tyrell Malacia should come in for Shaw at left-back while Harry Maguire may get a run out in what could be his last game for United. Raphael Varane may get a rest while Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes are also in-line for a breather ahead of the cup final.  Fred and Scott McTominay could get recalls, while Garnacho could get a start in attack if Ten Hag doesn’t want to risk Rashford from the start.

Man Utd XI: De Gea; Malacia, Lindelof, Maguire, Wan Bissaka; Fred, McTominay, Eriksen; Garnacho, Sancho; Martial

For Fulham, Bernd Leno will start in goal once again after an impressive campaign. Joao Palhinha will be a key figure in midfield as the Brazilian has been outstanding for the Cottagers this season. This could be his last game for the club with several teams eyeing a summer move.

Aleksandr Mitrovic will be the goal-threat for the visitors up front while Willian will also be looking to continue his recent good run of form.

Fulham XI: Leno; Tete, Adarabioyo, Diop, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Wilson, Cairney, Willian; Mitrovic

Predicted score

Man Utd have secured the top four and will no doubt have one eye on the showdown with Man City at Wembley. However, they’ll still want to finish third and go into the FA Cup final off the back of a win so it’s important they remain focussed on the task at hand. Fulham are a tricky side on their day and have the potential to cause a shock at Old Trafford, however, we’re backing United to edge it. Man Utd 2-1 Fulham