Manchester United vs Fulham

Resurgent Premier League heavyweights Manchester United and Fulham are set to trade tackles at Old Trafford in completely opposite moods.

The completion of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s deal to buy a 27.7% stake in Manchester United has coincided with the Red Devils’ most noticeable upturn in form in 2023/24. Erik ten Hag’s men have racked up a four-game winning league streak for the first time this season, including a nail-biting 2-1 win at Luton Town last weekend, whittling down the gap on the top four to only five points. Ten Hag must be relishing Fulham’s visit as he’s overseen four victories in as many H2Hs since taking charge of United in 2022, including a narrow 1-0 triumph in the reverse fixture at Craven Cottage. Those successes form part of Man Utd’s eye-catching 18-game unbeaten H2H run (W15, D3), suggesting they could make it four straight home league games without losing (W2, D1).

As for Fulham, these are not pleasant times for Marco Silva’s side as a 2-1 home loss to Aston Villa last time out condemned them to a fourth winless league match in their last five (D2, L2), leaving them pinned to mid-table lethargy. However, the Cottagers have seemingly laid the foundation for a third successive top-flight campaign as they begin this round nine points clear of relegation territory. The visitors’ comfortable position in the standings owes nothing to their away form, with only rock-bottom Sheffield United (5) picking up fewer Premier League points on the road than Fulham’s seven (W1, D4, L7). Equally unimpressive on both ends of the field, they’ve averaged just 0.91 goals per league travel while conceding 2.16 in return.