Game Week 2 Predictions: United to beat Fulham at Craven Cottage

Fulham host Man United at Craven Cottage after resilient draws and narrow defeats. Both sides seek first win of the season. Verdict: United to win.

Fulham will hope to take the fight to Manchester United but do they have enough to stop the Red Devils from recording an away win? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Fulham vs Manchester United

Craven Cottage

4:30pm

Fulham rallied to earn a precious point away at Brighton on the opening weekend; they will hope to follow that up with a stronger result against the Red Devils at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

Give it to Manchester United; they gave their all against Arsenal, left it all on the pitch and only lost due to Arsenal’s resolute defending. You must ask, are we seeing a new Manchester United, or did they only raise their levels because it was Arsenal?

In the loss to Arsenal, you could see what Ruben Amorim was trying to do: pressing from the front and hitting Arsenal on the break with long diagonal balls to Bryan Mbeumo, which the Cameroonian could have made count against the Gunners.

For Fulham, it was a game of grit and resilience. After going down through a penalty against the Seagulls, the Lilywhites kept going; they kept knocking, and their defiance paid off in the end as Rodrygo Muniz fired in their leveller at the death.

Both sides have good reasons to go for this one. United doesn’t want to stay too far away from the top of the log with a top-six finish high on the cards this season, while Fulham would want the same thing after narrowly missing out on Europe last season.

How do we expect them to line up? Amorim could start Amad Traore on the right in place of Diogo Dalot; the goal on Sunday for United is to win, not to defend or contain their hosts. They must attack from the start, and Amad could be the man to help them in that regard.

Fulham has just one job, which is to stay disciplined against the Red Devils as they go in search of their own first win of the season too. The Lilywhites beat United last season; they will hope to do it again when they host them on Sunday.

Bruno Fernandes is attracting interest from Saudi Arabia, and the Red Devils have left it all to him to decide what to do with the offer, but for now, they stay focused on the games. Rasmus Hojlund is expected to leave before the window slams shut; the same for Alejandro Garnacho and Antony.

Who starts up front for the Lilywhites? Muniz made a great case for himself after coming off the bench to score the leveller, and that could give Marco Silva some selection headaches. Alex Iwobi and Emile Smith Rowe are the other players United must pay attention to if they don’t want to be surprised.

Verdict: United to win