Manchester United -v- Fulham
Premier League
Old Trafford, Manchester
Sunday 1st February 2025; KO 14:00 GMT
Manchester United welcome Fulham to the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League. United have won their last two matches in the league with Michael Carrick at the helm, beating Manchester City 2-0 and Arsenal 3-2. What a time to be alive. Six points out of six for Carrick so far.
United sit fourth in the Premier League at the time of writing, a point clear of fifth placed Chelsea and eight points behind third placed Aston Villa and second-placed City. United have closed the gap to 12 points behind Arsenal. Fulham sit in seventh place in the league, four points behind this United side.
Manchester United Top Scorers & Assists
⚽️ 8 – Bryan Mbeumo, 5 – Bruno Fernandes, Benjamin Sesko, 4 – Casemiro, Matheus Cunha, 3 – Mason Mount, 2 – Amad, Patrick Dorgu, Harry Maguire, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Diogo Dalot, Mathijs de Ligt
🅰️ 10 – Bruno Fernandes, 3 – Amad, Patrick Dorgu, 2 – Matheus Cunha, Diogo Dalot, 1 – Casemiro, Ayden Heaven, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo, Bryan Mbeumo, Mason Mount, Benjamin Sesko, Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee
Fulham Top Scorers & Assists
⚽️ 9 – Harry Wilson, 6 – Raúl Jiménez, 5 – Emile Smith Rowe, 3 – Samuel Chukwueze, 2 – Alex Iwobi, Saša Lukić, Ryan Sessegnon, 1 – Calvin Bassey, Tom Cairney, Kevin, Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz, Harrison Reed, Kenny Tete
🅰️ 5 – Harry Wilson, 4 – Samuel Chukwueze, Kevin, 3 – Raúl Jiménez, Saša Lukić, 2 – Alex Iwobi, Ryan Sessegnon, 1 – Joachim Andersen, Sander Berge, Tom Cairney, Timothy Castagne, Josh King, Rodrigo Muniz, Harrison Reed, Antonee Robinson, Adama Traoré
Predicted Manchester United XI:
Lammens;
Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw;
Mainoo, Casemiro;
Amad, Fernandes, Cunha;
Mbeumo
Predicted Fulham XI:
Leno;
Castagne, Andersen, Cuenca, Robinson;
Iwobi, Berge;
Wilson, Smith Rowe, Kevin;
Jiménez
Goalkeeper: Senne Lammens
Senne Lammens is the best goalkeeper United have in the squad this season. He has grown into his position since signing for United, despite what opposition supporters say about him. He is the first goalkeeper since David De Gea to actually command his area, being brave and know when to punch the ball clear.
If you compare him to Andre Onana, you wonder why Onana is a footballer at all, let alone a goalkeeper. Lammens has a great future ahead of him and I really believe that he will thrive at United once the latest new era has stabilised and the club are bringing in players to better the football, not just the profits of the club.
Defence: Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martinez, Luke Shaw
United’s defence has found their feet this season. The central defensive partnership of Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez has been great for the last two matches, but Martinez has played well with Ayden Heaven too. The move to a four at the back system has been a revelation for United. Three at the back doesn’t work.
United will continue to grow defensively as there is work to do in order to sure up the defence and start to rise from the ashes and make something of this football club again. In the full back positions, Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw will be starting against Fulham – I would not expect many changes from Carrick at this stage.
Midfield: Kobbie Mainoo, Casemiro
The United midfield ha something to talk about again with the partnership of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo. The duo have done amazingly in the last two matches with Manuel Ugarte not really getting many minutes on the pitch. United will need to make some changes to the midfield in the summer though.
There will be options for Carrick against Fulham with both Ugarte and Mason Mount able to play in these positions, although Mount is more of an attacking player. Carrick could bring more youth players into the first team squad, but that may seem unlikely at this time as it could be a risk for him and getting top four.
Attacking Midfield: Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha
The attacking midfield has some great players who seem to be in full form at this stage of the season. Amad will remain on the right wing with Bruno Fernandes playing through the centre and with Patrick Dorgu out for the foreseeable future, Matheus Cunha playing on the left wing. That is a top attacking line.
Carrick will have many options here with Mount able to play in any of the three positions and the likelihood of Joshua Zirkzee back in contention plus the addition of Shea Lacey, if he makes the squad as he really has something about him and is full of confidence and does not shy away when playing for the first team.
Striker: Bryan Mbeumo
The forward should once again be Bryan Mbeumo. The Cameroonian is United’s top scorer this season with eight goals so far this season. Carrick sees more from Mbeumo than he does from Benjamin Sesko, who will remain on the bench. Perhaps Sesko will get a great opportunity in the coming matches for United?
Sesko could be learning a new system in the background, hence why he has been benched. There has been some good plays from him before Carrick took charge of the club. Mbeumo is a player more likely to find the back of the net for United though, which is a good thing. United have a good group of players now though.
Substitutes: Altay Bayindir; Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Ayden Heaven; Mason Mount, Manuel Ugarte; Joshua Zirkzee, Benjamin Sesko, Shea Lacey
United will have nine players on the bench against Fulham at Old Trafford on Sunday. Altay Bayindir will be the goalkeeper on the bench. In defence, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven will all be available to add some strength in depth on the bench, should defensive substitutions needs to be made.
In midfield, Mason Mount and Manuel Ugarte will both be available for the Fulham clash. I don’t see Carrick making any major changes to his XI as they have only played twice in the last two weeks. In attack, Joshua Zirkzee could be back along with Benjamin Sesko and Shea Lacey, adding some strength to the bench.
Match Prediction
United need to play exactly the same way they have played against both City and Arsenal in the past two weeks; press the opposition, let them hold possession of the ball and strike on the counter and shock the opposition by scoring goals. United have scored five goals in two matches, conceding just two.
Getting the better of Fulham will be the task for United as they need to keep a charge into the top four this season as qualifying for the UEFA Champions League is a just this season and Carrick seems to be up for that challenge, doing so well after two matches — getting six points out of six against the top two teams.
Manchester United 3-1 Fulham
Written by Paul
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