Fulham Vs Manchester United Prediction: Red Devils' Tough Test At Craven Cotttage

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo hope to rise in Craven Cottage (photo: x @manutd)

JAKARTA - In the match that marks the opening match of the English Premier League for the 2024/2025 season, Fulham will host Manchester United at Craven Cottage on Sunday 26 January. This meeting provides an opportunity for Fulham to show their solid performance in the league, while Manchester United are trying to get out of the pressure under the new coach, Ruben Amorim.

Manchester United started this season with a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford last August. Joshua Zirkzee's debut goal became the difference in the match. However, currently the situation between the two teams has changed drastically. Fulham is seven points better in the standings than Manchester United, who are still struggling to find consistency.

The Red Devils are now in 13th position in the Premier League standings, a position far from the club's expectations as much as they are. With 10 league defeats this season, Manchester United are also only a few points adrift of the relegation zone.

Coach Ruben Amorim, who replaced Erik ten Hag, has not been able to have a big impact. In the last match, United lost 1-3 at home to Brighton & Hove Albion, a defeat that added to the pressure on the shoulder of the Amorium.

Even so, a dramatic 1-0 win over Rangers in the Europa League last Thursday provided little hope. Late goals from captain Bruno Fernandes confirmed United's place in the knockout stages of the competition.

Meanwhile, Fulham came to this match with great enthusiasm after beating Leicester City 2-0 at the King Power Stadium. Emile Smith Rowe and Adama Traore became heroes in the victory, which was also Fulham's first win in the 2025 Premier League. With a stable performance, Fulham is now at the center of the standings and is only four points away from seventh position, which can open up opportunities to play in Europe next season.

However, Fulham has a bad record against Manchester United at Craven Cottage. They lost their last seven meetings at home against the Red Devils, with the last win taking place in 2009.

Coach Marco Silva did not face many injury problems. Only Kenny Tete (lutut) and Reiss Nelson (hamstring) are absent from this match. Meanwhile, Sasa Lukic has to be careful because he has collected nine yellow cards this season. If he gets an additional yellow card, he will miss the next two matches.

Silva is likely to keep most of the line-up that beat Leicester, although Adama Traore has the opportunity to replace Alex Iwobi as a starter in the right wing.

The victory over Rangers had to be paid dearly by Manchester United. Their two main centre-backs, Matthijs de Ligt and Leny Yoro, were forced out early due to injury. Coach Ruben Amorim has not been able to confirm whether the two will recover on time for this match.

If the two are absent, Harry Maguire and Leandro Martinez will likely have a duet at the heart of the defense. Victor Lindelof, who has just returned from injury, is also an additional option. On the other hand, Noussair Mazraoui is expected to return to play after missing the Europa League match due to preventive reasons.

Manchester United are still without Mason Mount (leg injury), Jonny Evans (dot), and Luke Shaw (hamstring). In addition, Andre Onana is likely to return to the bottom of the bar replacing Altay Bayindir, although his recent performance has drawn criticism.

This match is an important moment for both teams. Fulham has the opportunity to maintain their positive performance and break the bad trend against Manchester United. On the other hand, Ruben Amorim needed a win to reduce pressure and bring United back to winning ways in the Premier League.

However, with United's crippled squad in defense and inconsistent performance, Fulham has a great chance of at least winning a draw in front of his own supporters.

Prediction Of Lineup

Fulham (4-2-3-1): Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Lukic; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Traore; Jimenez

Manchester United (3-4-2-1): Onana; Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez; Diallo, Ugarte, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Garnacho; Hojlund

Score Prediction: Fulham 2-1 Manchester United