MUFC (Manchester United) vs FUL (Fulham) Match Prediction
England
Old Trafford
Fulham, on the other hand, finished 13th in the Premier League last season. Marco Silva has also stayed on as manager, having shrugged off a lot of interest from Saudi Arabia. The Cottagers have seen the major arrival of Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal; however, work still has to be done in the transfer market for Fulham. Their preseason is quite good, with them winning their last game against Hoffenheim by two goals to nil. Smith Rowe and Adama Traore scored in each half for the Cottagers.
Facts:
- Fulham registered a shock win at Old Trafford the last time they played Manchester United in the Premier League. If the Cottagers win this game on Saturday, then it will be the first time in their long history that they will have consecutive games at Old Trafford. Fulham have squared up against Manchester United on the opening week three times before this. The Cottagers ended up losing all 3 games.
- The winner between Manchester United and Fulham in recent games has been the team playing in away colours. The away team in this fixture has won 3 out of the last 4 Premier League games. Each of the 3 games was also decided by an injury time winner. Manchester United were victorious on 2 occasions and Fulham on 1.
- Manchester United have had a good history of starting their Premier League campaign by playing at home. This will be the 10th time that Manchester United will be starting the Premier League at Old Trafford in the last 11 seasons. The last time Manchester United played as the away team on the opening day was 8 years ago.
- Fulham have a pretty good opening day record in the Premier League in recent memory. The Cottagers have lost just 2 of their last 9 opening days this weekend. Fulham have won 4 and drawn 3 of those games, also keeping a clean sheet in 6 of the total 9 games they have played.
Manchester United vs Fulham Chance of Winning
Manchester United have gotten the better of Fulham in most encounters when it comes to recent head-to-head between the two. In the last 24 meetings between these two teams, Manchester United have won 18 times, and 3 games ended in a draw with Fulham winning 7 times.
Fulham will have problems in this game due to the state of their midfield and defence. The Cottagers will have to fill a massive hole that Joao Palhinha has left them. Sasa Lukic will be expected to start there, but he has played for Fulham as a plan B option. The departure of Tosin to Chelsea has also left a hole in their defence, which they still have to address in the transfer market. The addition of Smith Rowe will give them a lot attacking wise; however, we do not believe that their defence is equipped enough to deal with the United attack.
Manchester United were reeling at centre back once again but seemed to have fixed their problem by signing de Ligt and Mazraoui. United looked quite assured at the back against Manchester City, and we do expect them to build on that result. Manchester United will want to start quickly, as they were quite slow out of the blocks against City. If they start slow, Fulham could take advantage. However, with all things considered, we still back Manchester United to have a better chance of winning.
Manchester United vs Fulham Predictions and Betting Tips
As per the majority of the betting websites and bookies, the odds between Manchester United and Fulham favour the former as they will be playing in front of their home fans on the opening day. Manchester United’s strong summer recruitment and excitement around the club looks to have factored in the bookies’ call to make them favourites here. Fulham overall also do not tend to perform well at Old Trafford. Hence the difference in odds between the two teams is that big.
Manchester United go into this game having drawn with Manchester City in the Community Sheild. Their pre-season form has been decent, but the problem with Manchester United remains being clinical in front of goal. The Red Devils last season also won just 53% of their games at Old Trafford. Their scoring record at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’ was also not the best, with them scoring 1.63 goals on average last season from an expected goals ratio of 1.75. Fulham’s away record last season was quite poor as per their standards. Marco Silva’s men struggled on the road last season, winning just 29% of their games away from Craven Cottage.
Their goalscoring record was slightly worse than that of Manchester United, with them averaging 1.26 goals on their travels. In pre-season, Fulham did not score more than 2 goals in any of their games. Manchester United, on the other hand, scored above 2 goals in 1 game. Based on the above numbers, here are our following tips and predictions. We back both Fulham and Manchester United to score in this game. Manchester United in pre-season have created a lot of chances in front of goal, hence looking dangerous.
Fulham also have a good enough attack to get at Manchester United, especially with the Red Devils having some minor defensive worries. Last season, Fulham worried Manchester United a lot on the counterattack. We back Manchester United to score 2 or more goals in this game. However, we can also see Manchester United conceding, but we expect Ten Hag’s men to keep the damage limitation to just 1 goal. Manchester United conceded 1.47 goals on average last season at Old Trafford. Both Fulham and Manchester United last season had a very poor clean sheet record. Fulham have big issues in defence and in midfield. Manchester United, on the other hand, have bought in a few defenders; however, it remains to be seen if they are match-fit. Although Manchester United are in much better shape and are likely to concede less than Fulham.
In terms of scoring first, we back Manchester United to take the lead against Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday. Manchester United in their preseason games have been starting games in a quicker fashion. Fulham’s defensive issues could see United go for the throat right from the first whistle. In front of their home fans, we do expect Manchester United to start strong. In their last 10 games, United have scored first in 5 of their 10 games. Fulham, on the other hand, have scored first in 4 of their last 10. The numbers also back Manchester United to break the deadlock.
In terms of scoring for Manchester United, we back Marcus Rashford to go in as the favourite to score in this game. In the community shield game, Marcus Rashford should have easily scored at least 2 goals. The Englishman is coming into this season on the back of a really bad one; however, we do believe that Rashford will get chances in this game as the new United team is set up to get the best of him.
Alex Iwobi and Rodrigo Muniz had great games the last time they visited Old Trafford. They are once again the favourites to score on Saturday against Manchester United. However, an outside shout is also their new signing in Emile Smith Rowe. Smith Rowe recently joined Arsenal. The Englishman last started for Arsenal at Old Trafford in 2021 and was on the scoresheet in that game. Smith Rowe has also scored a goal in each of his last 2 games in a Fulham shirt. He will be the one player to keep an eye on.
Final Prediction:Manchester United to beat Fulham
Manchester United Player List
Goalkeepers:Andre Onana, Tom Heaton, Altay Bayindir
Defenders:Noussair Mazraoui, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Leny Yoro, Victor Lindelof, Tyrell Malacia, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans, Matthijs De Ligt
Midfielders:Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Scott McTominay, Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Kobee Mainoo, Hannibal Mejbri, Toby Collyer
Attackers:Facundo Pellistri, Alejandro Garnacho, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Amad Diallo, Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Hojlund
Manchester United Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Andre Onana |
Goalkeeper |
|
Diogo Dalot |
Defender |
|
Harry Maguire |
Defender |
|
Lisandro Martinez |
Defender |
|
Noussair Mazraoui |
Defender |
|
Kobee Mainoo |
Midfielder |
|
Casemiro |
Midfielder |
|
Mason Mount |
Midfielder |
|
Bruno Fernandes |
Midfielder |
|
Amad Diallo |
Attacker |
|
Marcus Rashford |
Attacker |
Fulham Player List
Goalkeepers: Bernd Leno, Steven Benda
Defenders: Kenny Tete, Calvin Bassey, Timothy Castagne, Issa Diop, Antonee Robinson, Kevin Mbabu, Jorge Cuenca, Ryan Sessegnon
Midfielders: Harrison Reed, Tom Cairney, Andreas Pereira, Sasa Lukic, Emile Smith Rowe
Attackers:Harry Wilson, Carlos Vinicius, Raul Jimenez, Adama Traore, Rodrigo Muniz, Alex Iwobi, Jay Stansfield
Fulham Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Bernd Leno |
Goalkeeper |
|
Kenny Tete |
Defender |
|
Issa Diop |
Defender |
|
Calvin Bassey |
Defender |
|
Antonee Robinson |
Defender |
|
Sasa Lukic |
Midfielder |
|
Andreas Pereira |
Midfielder |
|
Emile Smith Rowe |
Midfielder |
|
Adama Traore |
Attacker |
|
Rodrigo Muniz |
Attacker |
|
Alex Iwobi |
Attacker |
Fulham Team Form(Last five games): W, L, W, W, L
Manchester United vs Fulham Head-To-Head
Matches Played:91
Manchester United wins:56
Fulham wins:15
Matches are drawn:20
Manchester United vs Fulham Betting Odds
Manchester United to win the match (PARIMATCH): 1.59.
Fulham to win the match (PARIMATCH): 5.85.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 4.50.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Manchester United
Even in their 3-0 loss to Liverpool, they should have scored at least 2. The Red Devils have bolstered in defence, which should make their problems lighter; however, we do believe that Fulham have more problems to still fix in this transfer window. Fulham do look light in terms of their squad, and hence the bookies have not favoured them that much even though they won at Old Trafford last season. Our prediction for this game is a 3-1 Manchester United win.
Parimatch