Premier League rivals Manchester United and Fulham will lock horns with each other in the FA Cup this weekend. The fifth-round tie between Ruben Amorim's side and Marco Silva's team will be held at Old Trafford and is scheduled to kick off at 4:30pm UK time on Sunday.
Manchester United
Manchester United are arguably the biggest club in England and very wealthy, but they have been dire for over 10 years now. Once upon a time, Man Utd were regularly winning the Premier League title and now they cannot even get into the top four.
The Red Devils are having a really bad season. Even the departure of Erik ten Hag and the arrival of Ruben Amorim has not done much for Man Utd, who are 14th in the Premier League table at the moment with 33 points from 27 matches. That the likes of Fulham, Brentford, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are above Man Utd in the Premier League table tells volumes.
Man Utd will head into the FA Cup tie against Fulham on the back of a 3-2 victory over Ipswich Town at Old Trafford in the Premier League. It came after a 3-2 win against Everton away from home at Goodison Park in the league which followed a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League.
Team News:
Manchester United are likely to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against Fulham. Andre Onana will be in goal for the Red Devils and will have Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Leny Yoro in front of him in defence. Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Bruno Fernandes and Noussair Mazraoui will be the four midfielders. Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho will be the two attacking midfielders. Ramus Hojlund will lead the line for the Red Devils.
Fulham
Fulham are a modest club in the English club, but they are an established team in the Premier League who finished 13th in the table last season. It was a very respectable finish for the Cottagers, who could do even better this time around.
Marco Silva's side are as high as ninth in the Premier League table at the moment with 42 points from 27 matches. The London club are only five points behind fourth-placed and defending champions Manchester City. While not many would back Fulham for a UEFA Champions League spot, the fact of the matter is that they are in the race for it.
Fulham will head into the FA Cup tie against Manchester United on the back of a 2-1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home at Molineux Stadium in the Premier League. It came after a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace at Craven Cottage in the league which followed a 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest at home in the Premier League.
Team News:
Fulham are likely to line up in a 3-4-2-1 formation against Manchester United. Bernd Leno will be in goal for the home team and will have Issa Diop, Joachim Andersen and Jorge Cuenca in front of him in defence. Timothy Castagne, Sasa Lukic, Sander Berge and Ryan Sessegnon will be the four midfielders. Adama Traore and Andreas Pereira will be the two attacking midfielders. Rodrigo Muniz will lead the line for Fulham.
Key Factors to Consider
Bruno Fernandes has scored 6 goals in 25 matches for Manchester United this season.
Raul Jimenez has scored 9 goals in 27 matches for Fulham this season.
Manchester United have won 2 of their last 6 Premier League games.
Fulham have won 4 of their last 6 Premier League games.
Fulham have picked up nine more points than Manchester United in the Premier League table this season.
Conclusion
Fulham are in better form and will head into the FA Cup tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford with confidence. It is going to be a very tight affair and goals will be at a premium. It is very likely that the Cottagers will eke out a narrow win.
Prediction: Fulham to win 1-0
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