David Moyes takes his side to Craven Cottage this weekend for
yet another 4pm Saturday kick off- just what on earth is going on?! The
Reds had an easy warm up game on Tuesday against a lacklustre Norwich
City side, that provided very little in terms of opposition.
United go into the game on the back of a 4-0 demolition of Norwich on
Tuesday and were also victorious against Stoke in their last league
outing, coming from behind twice to seal a dramatic 3-2 victory. Fulham, meanwhile, were eliminated from the Capital One Cup by
Championship side Leicester City this week and Martin Jol goes into the
match under a raft of pressure. The Cottagers currently lie just two
points above the relegation and despite appearing to turn the corner
after back-to-back victories, a lacklustre defeat against in-form
Southampton followed by their midweek disappointment has heaped more
misery on Martin Jol and co.
United have been steadily improving since their slow start to the
season and the 4-0 victory over Norwich was arguably the Reds’ best
display of the season. This week has been all about in-form Javier
Hernandez, who scored against Norwich and Stoke this week, and
18-year-old Adnan Januzaj after their fantastic displays in both games
but it remains to be seen whether Moyes will give Hernandez a start he
richly deserves.
Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand both returned from niggling injuries
in midweek and looked fairly comfortable in a routine showing, so they
may push for a start at the Cottage. Danny Welbeck isn’t fit enough to
travel with the squad while Robin van Persie and Wayne Rooney are likely
to return to the starting XI for the game.
Fulham are without defensive linchpin Brede Hangeland who has been a
thorn in United’s side in previous season thanks to his aerial prowess.
Hugo Rodallega is also likely to miss out after limping off midweek.
Former Reds Dimitar Berbatov and Kieran Richardson could start.
The sides met three times last season with United triumphing on all
three occasions. An early season encounter at Old Trafford saw United
win 3-2 with new signings Shinji Kagawa and Robin van Persie among the
scorers. A single Wayne Rooney goal was enough to decide the reverse
contest in the title run-in and Fulham were also comfortably beaten 4-1
in the F.A Cup.
Fulham are notoriously strong at home but have struggled at Craven
Cottage this season where they have won just once. United have been
reasonable on their travels this season and are unbeaten against the
London-based outfit in the last six meetings and they are expected to
extend that run this weekend.
It’s hard to envisage anything but a victory for David Moyes’ side
who appear to gathering a reasonable amount of momentum. United already
sit behind runaway leaders Arsenal who the Reds play next week and any
more slip-ups would be a real blow to our title hopes. Victory would be
massive ahead of a potentially season defining game next weekend.
Predicted XI: David De Gea, Rafael, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans, Patrice
Evra, Michael Carrick, Marouane Fellaini, Antonio Valencia, Wayne
Rooney, Shinji Kagawa, Robin Van Persie.
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