Manchester United vs Fulham Predictions

• United have just one clean sheet in their last 14 competitive games (including community shield).
• Fulham lost nine of their 19 away games last season.
• United have lost just one of their last seven at Old Trafford.

Spotlight on Ten Hag and United

The wait is finally over as the Premier League returns this weekend with a Friday night fixture at Old Trafford as Manchester United take on Fulham.

The general feeling towards the end of last season was there would be a new boss in charge at United for the 2024/25 campaign until they sensationally overcame Manchester City in the FA Cup final.

There will be intense scrutiny over Erik ten Hag’s position as manager if United fail to get off to a good start, but this opening day game against Fulham does look like a very winnable assignment.

The Cottagers have lost a star in the shape of Joao Palhinha, now of Bayern Munich, but have landed a big name of their own after bringing in Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal. They did win 2-1 at Old Trafford back in February last season, but they may struggle to get a result in Manchester on Friday.

Back United to win and concede

Since Fulham’s win at Old Trafford, only Arsenal have managed to beat United on their own patch and in general they were strong at home last term – winning 10 of their 19 games.

United were also perhaps unlucky not to beat City at Wembley as they wasted a few gilt-edged chances before ultimately losing out on penalties.

Fulham lost nine of their 19 away games last season and it may take them a few weeks to settle this term after losing Palhinha, so a home win could be on the cards.

However, Ten Hag does have some issues in defence as new recruit Leny Yoro is out until October. Against City, United had no natural defenders on the bench and although Luke Shaw and Victor Lindelof should return on Friday they don’t look particularly solid at the back as new arrivals Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui are unlikely to feature after arriving on Tuesday.

United have only managed one clean sheet in their last 14 competitive games and have conceded in six of their last seven at home. Fulham have scored in six of their last seven meetings with their hosts and can at least grab a goal in their season opener even if they are unable to take a share of the spoils.

Garnacho a goal contender

A 2-1 win for United is the correct score prediction as this game could be fairly close. I am expecting the hosts to dominate possession and create more chances, but they were fairly wasteful against City and they’ve only scored more than twice in two of their last 13 games.

Alejandro Garnacho had plenty of chances last season, averaging 2.8 shots-per-game in the league, but that didn’t translate into a lot of goals. The Argentine managed just seven in this competition but could be set for a more productive campaign this year after finding his finishing touch. Garnacho scored in the FA Cup final and from the bench at Wembley last weekend. He should return to the starting side on Friday and he can open the season with a goal.

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