Overview
Manchester United will visit Fulham at Craven Cottage with the aim of getting the first point of the season. They had an encouraging performance against Arsenal despite having to accept defeat.
An opening day defeat against a big opponent is unlikely to make the "Red Devils" fans feel optimistic, especially when they are too familiar with the titles.
However, amid declining form last season, the 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford showed many positive signs. That is the organization, the spirit and initiative of Man United have all had clear changes.
If it were not for the mistake of goalkeeper Altay Bayindir, Man United could have left the field with at least 1 point. The home team controlled most of the game, showing clear progress compared to last season.
The game changed after Riccardo Calafiori opened the scoring early in the 13th minute, but it is worth noting that Arsenal only created 0.28 expected goals in a fairly open match.
In contrast, David Raya had to show his talent with miraculous saves to stop Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. These are two rookies who have integrated impressively and quickly brought new vitality to the "Red Devils" attack.
Leny Yoro and Patrick Dorgu also show the potential to become long-term pillars of Man United. Meanwhile, even Casemiro and Matthijs de Ligt - two names that have been doubted - have proven that they are still valuable in the squad.
However, the defeat to Arsenal means Ruben Amorim has suffered 15 losses in just 28 Premier League appearances (W7 D6). This is only a better record than Tottenham in the same period (17 losses).
The positive thing is that optimism has returned at Old Trafford, which has been rare in recent years. Therefore, the clash with Fulham in round 2 will become an important test. Will Man United really change?
History is in their favor as the "Red Devils" have won all eight of their most recent away matches against Fulham in the Premier League. However, they have never won nine consecutive times against a single opponent in the history of the tournament.
On the other hand, Fulham are eager to end a streak of 3 consecutive losses at home - something that coach Marco Silva has never experienced in his career. The 1-1 draw with Brighton in the opening round, with Rodrigo Muniz's 97th-minute equalizer, showed courage but also exposed concerns about a lack of breakthroughs in the transfer market.
If Muniz leaves in the final days of the transfer window, Fulham's attacking power will be further questioned.
Fulham have been almost inactive in the summer transfer window, bringing only reserve goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte for 500,000 Euros. Their financial resources are said to be for the development of Kevin from Shakhtar Donetsk.
Despite not adding much, Fulham still see a ray of hope from the current personnel. 18-year-old midfielder Josh King left a strong impression in the draw with Brighton, showing that he is ready to join the Premier League despite only making a second appearance.
Meanwhile, Amorim is considering handing over the starting position to Andre Onana instead of Bayindir. Sesko is likely to feature from the start.
Head-to-head record
Fulham have won just one of their last 19 Premier League meetings with Man United (D3 L15). That was a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in February 2024.
However, the "Red Devils" away record against London sides is extremely poor. They have won just three of their last three three three three three (D5 L15), all three of which came against Fulham.
Notably, all four of the most recent encounters between Fulham and Man United in the Premier League have had the decisive goal in the 78th minute onwards. 6 goals scored in the last two seasons between the two teams have appeared in the second half.
This is also one of only two Premier League games in 2023-24 and 2024-25 where no goals were scored in the first half (the other match was Everton - West Ham).
The match between Fulham and Man United takes place at 22:30 on August 24 (Vietnam time).
