Fulham vs Manchester United 09/02/19

09 February 2019

Saturday’s Premier League action starts at the Craven Cottage as the relegation-threatened Fulham host an in-form Manchester United.

A poor haul of just three points in their last five Premier League outings currently sees Fulham trailing to safety territory by seven points. However, the Whites have won two of their last three PL home meetings, which is 50% of their overall league wins this campaign. Claudio Ranieri’s defensive-minded football philosophy hasn’t helped the returnees to overcome their defensive problems. The Cottagers have conceded over 1.5 goals per match seven times in the previous ten PL clashes, keeping a clean sheet only twice in the sequence. Another issue Ranieri is faced with is that his players scored over 1.5 goals per match just two times in 14 competitive games during his tenure, failing to find the net four times in the process.

Meanwhile, the visitors sit just two points adrift of the Champions League promotion zone, mainly thanks to the impressive displays under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Seven wins in their last eight PL encounters have fired the Red Devils to fifth place as they now go after the fifth consecutive PL road victory. Three of United’s last four PL triumphs came without much fanfare, with the Red Devils beating their rivals by a minimum one-goal margin. Not only Solskjaer’s men won five successive road clashes across all competitions, but they’ve managed three clean sheets, restricting their rivals to a maximum of one goal per match on two occasions in the process. The resurgent giants boast an almost perfect road record against the bottom-six stationed teams (W3, D1), scoring 11 goals while conceding only three during the run.

Provisional line-up – Fulham:

Gk: Sergio Rico Defense: Le Marchand – Odoi – Tim Ream – Joy Bryan – Christie Midfield: Chambers – Seri – Cairney Attack: Babel – Mitrovic

Provisional line-up – Manchester United:

Gk: David de Gea Defense: Shaw – Lindelof – Bailly – Ashley Young Midfield: Pogba – Matic – Ander Herrera Attack: Rashford – Lingard – Alexis Sanchez