Fulham vs Man Utd preview, team news, how to watch and prediction

Manchester United will be looking to get their campaign back on track when they visit Craven Cottage to take on Fulham this Saturday lunchtime.

Erik ten Hag is under increasing pressure after overseeing United’s worst start to a season in over 40 years. After an encouraging first campaign in English football, there was a sense of optimism around Man Utd heading into the 2023/24 season. However, the feeling around the club soon turned to despair after they lost three of their opening five Premier League games following losses to Tottenham, Arsenal and Brighton. United did manage narrow home victories over Wolves and Nottingham Forest in-between those defeats, but three losses to close rivals put ten Hag under pressure before the end of September.

A 1-0 win away to Burnley and a comfortable win in the third round of the EFL Cup kept the wolves at the door for a while but Man Utd then slumped to a shock 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.  They bounced back with important 2-1 wins over Brentford and Sheffield United but a sobering 3-0 defeat at home to rivals Manchester City last weekend brought the Red Devils back down to earth. Man Utd then crashed out of the EFL Cup thanks to a second consecutive 3-0 home defeat – this time at the hands of Newcastle United. The Magpies were the better side at Old Trafford and deserved their victory, and calls are growing for ten Hag to be sacked off the back of another hugely disappointing performance.

Manchester United have now lost five of their opening 10 league games and sit 8th in the table – 11 points off the leaders and 8 adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool – so they are already facing a battle just to retain their place in the Champions League for next season. It’s not just domestically where United have struggled, as they are also battling to get out of their Champions League group. They lost to Bayern Munich in their opening Group A game before going down 3-2 at home to Galatasaray. A narrow 1-0 home win over Copenhagen has given them some hope but they cannot afford anymore slips up if they want to reach the knockout stages.

After such a disappointing opening three months to the new season, ten Hag is under real pressure to turn things around and the Dutchman can’t afford another poor result at Fulham this weekend. The good news for United is that Fulham have also struggled for consistency this campaign. The Cottagers have won only three of their 10 league games so far and sit 14th in the table.

They’ve shown signs of promise with wins over Everton, Luton and Sheffield United while they also got an impressive 2-2 draw at Arsenal. However, Man City thrashed them 5-1 while they’ve also lost to Chelsea, Brentford and Tottenham so the Londoners will be hoping to climb up the table with a positive result at home to Man Utd on Saturday lunchtime.

Team news

Man Utd welcomed Casemiro back from an ankle injury in midweek, however, the Brazilian international failed to complete the game after picking up another knock. The former Real Madrid star was forced off at half time with a hamstring injury and is set to be on the sidelines for at least two weeks meaning he’ll miss the trip to Craven Cottage.

Luke Shaw also remains on the treatment table with a muscle issue while Jadon Sancho continues to be frozen out of the squad following his bust-up with ten Hag. Lisandro Martinez is continuing his recovery from a foot injury and Tyrell Malacia is out with a knee problem. To make matters worse, Victor Lindelof is a doubt due to illness so United have plenty of issues in defence.

However, there is some positive news as Raphael Varane is expected to be recalled after recovering from the illness that kept him out of the Newcastle game on Wednesday night. Aaron Wan-Bissaka is also back in contention to start after making his return off the bench in midweek.

As for Fulham, they could welcome Tosin Adarabioyo back into the squad after he returned from a groin injury. Kenny Tete could also be available again after a minor knock.

However, Issa Diop remains on the sidelines for the hosts as he’s still recovering from a foot injury that Adama Traore is still out with a thigh problem.

How to watch

The game will be broadcast live on TNT Sport at 12.30pm on Saturday lunchtime. Subscribers can follow all the action on their TV, or via the app on mobile or tablet devices.

Match-going fans can also buy Fulham tickets for the game at Craven Cottage. Official club channels are likely to be sold out but supporters can still try reputable ticket resellers such as seatsnet.com.

Predicted line-ups

Ten Hag is expected to recall Varane if he’s fully fit and he could start alongside Harry Maguire in defence for Man Utd. Bruno Fernandes is also likely to be recalled to the starting eleven after being rested in midweek. United looked toothless against Newcastle so Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund should come in to start in attack with Anthony Martial and Garnacho making way.

Fulham will recall Bernd Leno in goal after he was rested for the EFL Cup win over Ipswich. Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson should also come back into the starting eleven after being given a breather in midweek. Palhinha will be the key man for the hosts and United will need to find a way to contain him if they’re to gain control in the middle of the park.

Likely Fulham XI: Leno; Castagne, Ream, Bassey, Robinson; Reed, Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Iwobi; Muniz

Likely Man Utd XI: Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Maguire, Reguilon; McTominay, Eriksen; Antony, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund

Predicted score

Fulham will smell blood and will hope this is a good time to face a beleaguered Man Utd side at home. They certainly have the potential to cause an upset here, however, United are under huge pressure to win this game. Another defeat and disgruntled fans will be calling for ten Hag’s head, so things could turn ugly.

United have usually found a way to bounce back and grind out a win off the back of disappointing results this season, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them do likewise tomorrow. This should be a close game of fine margins, but we’re backing Man Utd to edge it at Craven Cottage to take three vital points back to Manchester. Fulham 1-2 Man Utd