Manchester United Faces Fulham Amid Urgency to Improve

- Who: Fulham vs Manchester United

- What: English Premier League

- Where: Craven Cottage, London, United Kingdom

- When: Sunday, September 20, at 4:30 PM (15:30 GMT)

- Follow: Al Jazeera Sport will provide live text commentary starting at 12:30 GMT

After a month into the new Premier League season, pressure is mounting on Manchester United, particularly as the international break approaches. Early excuses about squad adjustments are fading, intensifying the scrutiny on manager Michael Carrick.

United's performance has been lackluster, losing three of six matches across all competitions and exiting the League Cup after blowing a 2-0 lead against Brighton & Hove Albion. Their only victory in the league this season came against newly-promoted Ipswich Town. In their recent Manchester derby, despite starting strong, United struggled once Manchester City was reduced to ten men.

In contrast, Fulham, under new manager Alvaro Arbeloa, has also faced challenges, remaining winless in the league. Their recent draw at Liverpool and a League Cup victory against West Ham have offered some hope for improvement.

Carrick has acknowledged his responsibility for the team's struggles but emphasized the need to focus on finding solutions rather than placing blame. He stated, "It’s about finding solutions. I know where we want to get to and we want to get there fast."

In their last encounter, United edged out Fulham with a 3-2 victory on February 1, thanks to goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha. Fulham had managed to equalize briefly before United secured the win. In their previous match at Craven Cottage last season, the two teams shared a 1-1 draw.

Fulham's last victory over United was on February 24, 2024, when they triumphed 2-1 in a dramatic finish. Since then, United has won three of their subsequent five meetings. However, Fulham has not claimed a home victory against United since December 2009, with United winning nine out of ten encounters since.

Prediction models give Manchester United a 47.4 percent chance of victory, compared to Fulham's 28.3 percent. This match will mark the 94th competitive meeting between the two clubs, with United having won 59 times and Fulham 14.

Team News:

Fulham will be without Kenny Tete due to concussion and Tom Cairney due to a knee injury, while Ryan Sessegnon is a doubt pending a late fitness test.

Predicted Fulham lineup: Leno; Castagne, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Charles; Bobb, King, Iwobi; Garcia.

For Manchester United, late decisions will be made on Luke Shaw and Carlos Baleba, both of whom are recovering from ankle injuries. Manuel Ugarte, Tom Heaton, Matthijs de Ligt, and Amad Diallo remain sidelined due to injuries.

Predicted Manchester United lineup: Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko.