Man Utd vs Fulham Premier League predictions and stats: Will Ten Hag mount a title challenge?
Manchester United will begin their quest for a record-extending 21st league title by hosting Fulham to kick off the 2024/25 Premier League season.
The Red Devils won the FA Cup at the end of last season to ensure Europa League qualification, but only after slumping to eighth in the table, a massive 31 points adrift of champions Manchester City. Fulham, meanwhile, ended comfortably in 13th, 15 points clear of relegation.
Three predictions for Man Utd vs Fulham
Man Utd 3-1 Fulham (10/1 with Betano)
Manchester United have won their opening game of a Premier League campaign 21 times, more than any other side. Fulham also have a poor record at Old Trafford despite their victory back in February, losing 13 of their 17 trips to the red side of Manchester and have never won back-to-back away league games against United. The Red Devils have also kept just one clean sheet in their last six Premier League games on home soil.
Bruno Fernandes first goalscorer (6/1 with Betano)
The Portuguese maestro ended last season in fine form, scoring seven goals and providing four assists in his last nine appearances across all competitions for Man Utd and will be hoping to continue that form into 2024/25. Bruno has found the back of the net four times in his last four matches against the Cottagers across all competitions.
Fulham 15+ shots (7/4 with Betano)
In what was a campaign to forget in 2023/24, only the relegated Sheffield United (678) faced more shots than Manchester United (667) during Ten Hag’s second year in charge. The Cottagers had 35 shots across the two head-to-head matches last season, including 17 in their 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
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How to watch Man Utd vs Fulham Live
Man Utd vs Fulham kicks off on Friday, 16 August, at 8pm (UK time) and will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR.
How both teams go into Man Utd vs Fulham
Erik ten Hag’s position as Manchester United’s head coach seemed in jeopardy until a surprising FA Cup final victory over Manchester City gave him a reprieve. Despite a 2-0 win at Brighton to end their 2023/24 league season, they finished with a negative goal difference (57 scored, 58 conceded), a feat the Red Devils hadn’t achieved since 1989/90 (-1 in both cases). Moreover, the record 20-time English champions finished in eighth place, their lowest Premier League position. This marked their worst performance since coming 13th under Alex Ferguson in 1990.
After extending his contract with Manchester United until June 2026 with the support of minority owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the focus is now on climbing up the table and competing with last season’s top contenders, Arsenal and eventual champions, City. However, this won’t be easy as United are starting from a position of weakness, but have added quality and more depth to their squad for the upcoming campaign.
In a season of unwanted records, Manchester United’s biggest number of defeats in a single Premier League season was previously 12. Their humiliating loss at Crystal Palace on May 6th saw them set a new worst tally of 13, and a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal took them to 14 for the campaign.
The loss to Mikel Arteta’s side was Manchester United’s sixth at home; before that setback came a 2-1 defeat to Fulham, which saw Alex Iwobi’s goal clocked in at 96:04. This is the second-latest winning goal ever scored against Manchester United in the Premier League, and the latest goal on record (since 2006/07) scored by the visiting team at Old Trafford in the competition.
That result earned Fulham their first away win against Manchester United in all competitions since October 2003, ending a run of 16 visits without a win (two draws and 14 losses). Furthermore, ex-United midfielder Andreas Pereira created five chances in the match, the most by a Fulham player away against United in the Premier League since Luís Boa Morte in August 2006 (also five).
Marco Silva’s men would add four more wins to claim 13th spot, and just like United, they often looked suspect at the back as Fulham conceded 61 goals in the Premier League season. They only let in more during the 2013/14 (85) and 2018/19 (81) campaigns in the competition, both of which saw the Cottagers relegated.
They did win two of their final three Premier League away games last season (D1) however, as many as they managed in their first 16 on the road in 2023-24 (D5 L9) and another three points at Old Trafford would secure back-to-back away wins against Manchester United for the first time in their history.
Man Utd latest team news
Manchester United have started to boost their squad in the transfer window. First adding more firepower upfront with the addition of forward Joshua Zirkzee, who scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 34 Serie A appearances for Bolgonga last term, before fighting off competition from Real Madrid to secure highly rated 18-year-old centre-back Leny Yoro from Lille.
During the 2022/23 season, Ten Hag did not often have his best players available due to injuries, and he will be hoping to avoid a similar situation this season. Rasmus Højlund will be entering his second year at Old Trafford, and young midfielder Kobbie Mainoo has become a key player for Ten Hag.
Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui should both come straight into the side after joining from Bayern, especially with Luke Shaw and fellow new signing Leny Yoro both unavailable.
Fulham latest team news
It is expected to be another busy summer at Fulham. Tosin Adarabioyo and Bobby De Cordova-Reid have already left as free agents to join Chelsea and Leicester City, while midfield enforcer João Palhinha has joined them in leaving, which is a huge loss for head coach Silva. The Portuguese international, who has joined Bayern Munich, recorded 152 tackles in the Premier League last season, the most of any player in the competition. He was also the only player across Europe’s top five leagues to register both 100+ tackles and win 250+ duels in 2022/23.
Ryan Sessegnon has returned home to the Cottage to provide competition for Antonee Robinson at left-back however, and Marco Silva has also secured the signing of midfielder Emile Smith Rowe from Arsenal to provide more quality to his midfield.
Man Utd vs Fulham head-to-head
Despite last season’s success, Fulham have lost 13 out of their 17 Premier League away games against Manchester United, which includes two wins and two draws.
| Man Utd vs Fulham H2H | |||||||
| Date | Score | Ground | |||||
| 24 Feb 2024 | Man Utd 1-2 Fulham | Old Trafford, Manchester | |||||
| 04 Nov 2023 | Fulham 0-1 Man Utd | Craven Cottage, London | |||||
| 28 May 2023 | Man Utd 2-1 Fulham | Old Trafford, Manchester | |||||
| 19 Mar 2023 | Man Utd 3-1 Fulham | Old Trafford, Manchester | |||||
| 13 Nov 2022 | Fulham 1-2 Man Utd | Craven Cottage, London | |||||
| 18 May 2021 | Man Utd 1-1 Fulham | Old Trafford, Manchester | |||||
