Match Preview
Manchester United vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 26 22_23 at Old Trafford
Saturday 24th February 2024, KO: 15:00
Referee:
Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
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Fulham head to Old Trafford for their Saturday afternoon game aiming to get back to winning ways against top four hopefuls Manchester United who will be endeavouring to claim maximum points for the fifth consecutive Premier League game.
The two teams meet for the first time since November 4 when Bruno Fernandes scored in the 91st minute to help the Red Devils secure a narrow 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage.
After collecting four points from their first two games in February, drawing 2-2 at Burnley and beating Bournemouth 3-1 on home soil, Fulham were condemned to a 2-1 home defeat against Aston Villa last weekend – their 12th league loss of the campaign.
Ollie Watkins scored either side of half time to put the visitors in control before Rodrigo Muniz netted his fourth goal in three games to provide Fulham with hope of a comeback in the final half-hour. However, the Cottagers were unable to find an equaliser and had to settle for their first defeat at Craven Cottage in 2024.
Marco Silva's men have struggled to find consistency this season, winning back-to-back matches just once in early December, and they subsequently sit mid-table, occupying 12th place with eight points separating them from both the bottom three and Newcastle United in eighth spot.
Fulham are heading to Old Trafford with the second-worst away record in the Premier League this season; only basement club Sheffield United (five) have accumulated fewer points than the Cottagers (seven) on the road. Since beating Everton 2-1 at Goodison Park in their opening fixture of the season back in August, they have failed to win any of their last 11 away matches, losing seven.
Success at Man United has also been hard to come by for Fulham, who have lost 13 of their last 16 away encounters with the Red Devils – their only triumph during this period was under former boss Chris Coleman back in October 2003 when they claimed a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Lee Clark, Steed Malbranque and Junichi Inamoto.
Although Man United are "a long way behind" knocking rivals Manchester City and Liverpool "off their perch" in the eyes of new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe, top-four aspirations have grown in recent weeks following an impressive four-game winning streak.
Victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Ham United and Aston Villa were followed by last weekend's 2-1 win at Luton Town, a game in which in-form striker Rasmus Hojlund scored twice in the opening seven minutes before Carlton Morris pulled one back for the Hatters on the 14-minute mark.
Erik ten Hag's side were unable to increase their lead at Kenilworth Road, but they held on for all three points to consolidate sixth place in the Premier League table. Man United are now breathing down the necks of Tottenham Hotspur, who sit just three points ahead of them in fifth and are not in action this weekend, while Aston Villa in fourth currently hold a five-point advantage over the Red Devils.
The small matter of the Manchester derby is on the horizon, but Man United must first shift their attention to Saturday's clash with Fulham and they will be confident of success considering that they have won 13 and drawn three of their last 16 Premier League meetings with the Cottagers.
Victory for Man United – who last won back-to-back league games at Old Trafford in August last year – would see them boast a 100% win rate in a month in which they have played at least five top-flight matches for the first time since January 2009.
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Fulham's solitary victory in their past 16 league visits to Old Trafford was by 3-1 in 2003.
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Manchester United are unbeaten in 16 Premier League games against Fulham since a 3-0 away defeat in 2009.
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The Cottagers took the lead in their league and FA Cup fixtures away to United last season but lost both.
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Fulham are without a win in their past 11 Premier League away fixtures (D4, L7).
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Only Sheffield United have earned fewer points on the road than Fulham's seven this season.
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However, the Cottagers are unbeaten in their last 11 away league games played in February (W5, D6).
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Rodrigo Muniz has four goals in his last three Premier League appearances, having failed to score in his first 10 outings in the division.
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Muniz can become the fourth player to score in four consecutive Premier League matches for Fulham, following Louis Saha, Collins John and Manor Solomon.
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Manchester United have won five consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since January last year.
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United are unbeaten in their past 26 Premier League games in February (W17, D9), with their most recent defeat in this month coming six years ago.
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They have scored 17 goals in their last seven league fixtures, having scored just 18 in their previous 18.
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Twelve of United's 14 league wins this season have been by a single-goal margin.
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Bruno Fernandes' only goal in his past 18 league appearances was a stoppage-time winner against Fulham on 4 November.
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Antony turns 24 on Saturday. He remains without a goal or an assist in his 19 league matches this season.
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Source Oliver Thomas at SportsMole/BBC Sports