Match Preview
Fulham v Manchester United
Premier League Match Day 26 at Craven Cottage
Saturday 9th February 2019 KO: 12:30
Referee:
Paul Tierney (Lancashire)
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Manchester United will be aiming to move into the Premier League's top four when they travel to Fulham, live on Sky Sports from 11.30am on Saturday.
United were 11 points off the Champions League qualification spots before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over from Jose Mourinho in December but after eight games unbeaten in the leaguethey head to Craven Cottage with the chance to go fourth with victory against Fulham.
"You take one step at a time, and that's one of the goals we have set - moving into the top four," Solskjaer said. "If we do so, we want to stay there and improve on that.
"It's been fantastic the last two months, so consistency is now the key word. We need to keep on improving and winning games, but in a better way than say, the Leicester one.
"I felt we hung on. It was good enough, but we shouldn't just be happy with good enough. We want to improve."
Fulham have lost four of their last five league games and manager Claudio Ranieri says his team need "soldiers" to help them avoid relegation after only one season back in the Premier League.
The Italian took charge in November with Fulham in deep trouble having struggled under Slavisa Jokanovic and he has been unable to lead a sustained recovery. They have won three times in the league since, compared to once in the first 12 games of the season, but remain second from bottom with 17 points, seven behind Burnley who are one place above the relegation zone.
"We know where we are, we know it's very tough and we need soldiers who fight until the end," Ranieri told reporters on Thursday.
"We are ready to fight. I have to motivate them and give my positivity to our players. It's much better to play at home than away. It's very important to achieve points against this team."
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Fulham have won just three Premier League matches against Manchester United, losing 19 times.
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United are unbeaten against Fulham in their past 11 meetings in all competitions (W9, D2).
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Fulham have lost four of their last five Premier League games but they have won two of their last three at home.
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Fifteen of their 17 points this season have been earned at Craven Cottage.
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The Cottagers have their worst record after 25 matches of a league season: W4, D5, L16.
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They have kept just two clean sheets in this season's top flight, half as many as any other team.
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Fulham have lost 22 of their last 23 Premier League meetings against established top-six sides since March 2013, with the only exception being a 2-2 draw at Manchester United five years ago.
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Bottom-of-the-table Huddersfield are the only side to fail to score at Craven Cottage in this season's Premier League.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic's 10 goals account for 40% of Fulham's total in this season's Premier League - the highest proportion of a team's goals by any player in the top flight.
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Manchester United have won seven of their past eight matches, the best record of any Premier League side over that spell.
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They have taken 22 out of 24 possible points since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took over and are the only unbeaten club in the Premier League during that time.
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United are looking to win six consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since May 2009.
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Paul Pogba has been directly involved in 11 goals in eight Premier League appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, scoring six and setting up five.
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Solskjaer scored one goal in his five Manchester United appearances against Fulham in all competitions. That came in a 1-1 Premier League draw at Loftus Road in October 2002.