Manchester United vs Fulham

The 2024/25 Premier League gets underway at Old Trafford as Manchester United and Fulham go head-to-head in a curtain-raising fixture.

Manchester United’s new season was off to a painful start as Manchester City got the better of Erik ten Hag’s troops in last weekend’s Community Shield on penalties. Despite a heartbreaking result at Wembley, the Red Devils head into the 2024/25 league campaign confident of improving on the club’s worst finish in the Premier League era last term (8th). A disastrous record of 14 top-flight defeats was their highest total since 1989/90, but lifting the FA Cup trophy at the expense of Man City salvaged Ten Hag’s skin. His side will open the new Premier League campaign on home soil for the eighth consecutive year (W5, D2), looking to avenge a 2-1 defeat in this corresponding fixture last season, which snapped their dominant 18-game unbeaten H2H run versus Fulham (W15, D3).

That was Fulham’s first triumph at Old Trafford since 2003 (D2, L14) as they secured another mid-table finish in their second season since returning to the Premier League. However, Marco Silva’s men come into the new season significantly weakened after losing Tim Ream and Joao Palhinha over the summer. Perhaps the arrivals of Ryan Sessegnon and Emile Smith Rowe could help soften the blow and inspire the Cottagers to a third successive unbeaten start to a new top-flight season (W1, D1). That could be easier said than done, considering their woeful record at Old Trafford. That’s not to mention Silva’s awful managerial stats against United, with only Man City (11) beating the Fulham boss more often than Man Utd (W3, D1, L7).