Premier League: Fulham v Manchester United match preview

A look ahead to this weekend's Premier League match at Craven Cottage

After a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Manchester United in the FA Cup last weekend, Fulham quickly get the chance of revenge when they host the league leaders at tea time on Saturday.

Martin Jol’s team secured only their third win in 16 league games with a 3-1 victory over West Ham during the week, but were able to welcome five new signings in all over the January transfer window, the pick of which may be highly-rated Urby Emanuelson who comes on loan from AC Milan and could make his debut on Saturday.

United won during the week as well but the 2-1 victory over Southampton at Old Trafford was far from routine, with the away side unlucky to leave Old Trafford empty-handed. However Sir Alex Ferguson’s men can go 10 points clear of City, who have a tricky game against improving Liverpool on Sunday, with a win here.

 

KICK-OFF: Saturday, 5.30pm

 

PAST THREE MEETINGS...

Man United 4 (Giggs, Rooney, Hernandez 2) Fulham 1 (Hughes) FA Cup, January, 2013

Man United 3 (Van Persie, Kagawa, Da Silva) Fulham 2 (Duff, Vidic o.g) August, 2012

Man United 1 (Rooney) Fulham 0, Premier League, March, 2012

 

STATS...

Man United won this fixture 5-0 last season

Fulham have kept just one clean sheet in their last 16 league games

Of the 24 matches Robin Van Persie has started this season, Man United have won 20, drawn two and lost two.

Man United have the best record in the league of playing against teams from the bottom half, winning 12 out of 13, with 37 goals scored.

 

ODDS...

Fulham to win 6.0

Man United to win 1.64

Draw 4.3

 

MEMORABLE MATCH...

While Manchester United have enjoyed the best of this fixture in recent years, the trip to Craven Cottage had not been so fruitful for a run of seasons prior to the 2010-11 season, with Fulham taking points off the Sir Alex Ferguson’s team three seasons in a row. The sequence started in the 2008-09 campaign when title-chasing United finished the game with nine men in a 2-0 loss. Paul Scholes was the first United player to see red, and then late in the game Wayne Rooney followed suit. Rooney, perhaps with a more volatile personality, reacted by hurling the ball back towards referee Phil Dowd and then unceremoniously punching the corner flag on his way off the pitch.

 

TV: Live on ESPN AT 5.30pm, Highlights on BBC1 at 10.30pm

Independent Comment
blog comments powered by Disqus
Caption competition
Caption competition
News in pictures
World news in pictures
Sport blogs

Brits on fire in the wet at Le Mans!

Wow - what a weekend for British Motorcycle racing!

by Luke Wilkins

iBet: Bale and Rooney transfer specials

The dust is barely settling on the Premier League season and the bookies are looking to persuade us ...

by Gareth Purnell

A changing of the guards in English football: From Sir Alex Ferguson to Jose Mourinho

The guard has changed at Old Trafford for the first time in 26 years. Meanwhile, down the road, the ...

by The Sports Lawyer

       

Day In a Page

National archives: Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Edward VIII’s phone calls - and how MI5 bugged them

Newly unearthed papers reveal a shocking extra dimension to the constitutional crisis over monarch’s abdication
Sent down at the Old Bailey: A tour of the world's most famous court

Sent down at the Old Bailey

A tour of the world's most famous court
Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

Hollywood's random acts of red-carpet kindness

The Hangover actor Zach Galifianakis’s date for his movie premieres isn’t arm candy  – it’s his 87-year-old friend who he saved from homelessness
British football scores an own goal

British football scores an own goal

Many managers barely survive a year in post. Martin Baker talks to experts who make a case for clubs using forensic business skills to find the best staff
James Lawton: Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again

James Lawton

Sergio Garcia cracks as major fault line opens up again
Dylan Hartley: Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong

Dylan Hartley talks tough

Northampton have spent the season proving all our critics wrong
Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

Watch out Watford: Here comes the secretive Bilderberg Group

A meeting of global power brokers in a Hertfordshire hotel is exciting conspiracy theorists, but what are they really about?
'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system': Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console

'The ultimate all-in-one home entertainment system'

Microsoft finally unveils its Xbox ONE console
Plenty of Fish dating site founder pulls 'Intimate Encounters' option to ward off sleazy men

Plenty of sleaze

Dating website pulls intimate 'hook-up' section to curb harassment
Inferno author Dan Brown 'honoured' to be invited to join the Freemasons

The Freemasons’ Code

Dan Brown reveals the message that told him door to the lodge is open
Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Not secure any more: G4S boss heads for exit at last

Nick Buckles survived the Olympics débâcle and a £5bn bid fiasco but a profit warning finally triggered his downfall
How to say ‘I’m a sellout’: Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar

How to say ‘I’m a sellout’

Tumblr’s David Karp’s message of reassurance to his staff sounded very familiar
Why clubs are keen to take a stand

Why clubs are keen to take a stand

There's a real desire around the grounds for safe standing. But will the authorities listen?
In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

In the end the fans decided Tony Pulis had made a pig's ear of the job at Stoke City

Disillusion with a siege mentality and negative playing style made change inevitable
James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

James Lawton: The James Hunt I knew is the subject of a new F1 movie

British driver was fascinating man whose epic duel with Niki Lauda in 1976 was typical of an era of glamour and glory – but also the ever-present threat of death