Fulham and Manchester United will be eager to clinch their first win of the 2025/26 Premier League season when they face off at Craven Cottage on Sunday.

Gameweek 2 of the 2025/26 Premier League season will continue on Sunday. The action on the day will start with two simultaneous matches before continuing with Fulham vs Manchester United at Craven Cottage, with both teams desperate to kick-start their campaigns with a positive result this weekend.

Fulham showed incredible resolve to come back from a goal down to hold Brighton & Hove Albion to a 1-1 draw last weekend. The Cottagers have endured a frustrating summer transfer window, and that has given Marco Silva the opportunity to showcase his coaching skills, bringing the best out of a lighter squad from the 2024/25 season.

On the other hand, Manchester United showed considerable improvement in Gameweek 1, and they were the better of the two sides against Arsenal despite losing 1-0 due to a goalkeeping error. The match also witnessed some questionable refereeing decisions, and Ruben Amorim’s charges will have felt hard done by. However, the Portuguese tactician must start correcting the results, and only producing eye-catching displays will not be enough.

The reverse fixture saw Manchester United eke a narrow 1-0 win over Fulham, with Lisandro Martinez scoring the match-winning goal. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Fulham

Marco Silva barely has any fitness issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Fulham manager may not be bereft of the services of any first-team player vs Manchester United on Sunday.

Silva has been sweating over the fitness of Antonee Robinson (knee) and Ryan Sessegnon (knock) ahead of Sunday’s Premier League match. The two left-backs face a late fitness test to determine their availability to take on Manchester United.

Bernd Leno is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Fulham lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Manchester United on Sunday. The backline should feature Kenny Tete, Joachim Andersen, Jorge Cuenca, and Calvin Bassey, with Sessegnon or Robinson starting if either player is fit and available.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic in the double pivot. Emile Rowe will reprise the no. 10 role, with Adama Traore and Alex Iwobi being the two wide attackers. Finally, Rodrigo Muniz should spearhead the Fulham attack against Manchester United on Sunday.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Bassey; Berge, Lukic; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz

Manchester United

Unlike his counterpart in the Fulham dugout, Ruben Amorim has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to Craven Cottage. The Manchester United manager will be without two first-team players on Sunday.

Lisandro Martinez is a long-term absentee, with the Argentine international recovering from a knee injury that will keep him on the sidelines until October. However, Noussair Mazraoui should return from a hamstring issue next week, although he remains unavailable this weekend.

Andre Onana should replace Altay Bayindir between the sticks, with Manchester United lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Fulham on Sunday. The central defensive unit should feature Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt, and Luke Shaw, with the trio being impressive against Arsenal last weekend.

Amad Diallo and Patrick Dorgu will likely start as the two wing-backs, with Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro pairing up in the middle of the park again. Finally, Benjamin Sesko should make his first start for Manchester United, with Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha completing the numbers in the offensive third.

Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Onana; Yoro, de Ligt, Shaw; Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Casemiro, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko

Key Stats

• Fulham have won only one of their last 19 Premier League games vs Manchester United (D3 L15), beating them 2-1 at Old Trafford in February 2024. The Red Devils have won their eight most recent Premier League away matches against Fulham. They have never won nine successive clashes against an opponent in their league history.
• Manchester United have won only three of their last 23 Premier League away games against London sides (D5 L15), with each victory coming against Fulham.
• Fulham ended 2024/25 on a run of three consecutive home Premier League defeats, last losing more successive top-flight matches at Craven Cottage when they faced defeat in their final six home games in 2020/21. Marco Silva has never previously lost four league games on the trot in his managerial career.
• Ruben Amorim has suffered 15 Premier League defeats in only 28 games as Manchester United manager (W7 D6), with Tottenham the only current side to have lost more games than the Red Devils since Amorim’s first game in charge (17). Amorim has already lost more games in the Premier League than he did in 167 matches in the Portuguese Primeira Liga (W130 D23 L14).
• Marco Silva has lost seven of his ten Premier League matches against Manchester United (W2 D1), only facing defeat in more games against Manchester City (12). On home soil he has lost four out of five against the Red Devils, with the other a 4-0 win as Everton boss in April 2019.
• None of Rodrigo Muniz’s first nine Premier League goals for Fulham were as a substitute. But seven of his last nine have come from the bench; the most of any player since the start of the 2024/25 season. He equalised in the 97th minute of Fulham’s 1-1 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion in Gameweek 1.

Player to Watch

Bruno Fernandes

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While Rodrigo Muniz, Sander Berge, and Benjamin Sesko were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Bruno Fernandes as the Player to Watch for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Fulham and Manchester United at Craven Cottage.

The Manchester United captain produced some promising moments and created five chances in his team’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal, the 33rd time he has done so in a Premier League match and the most of any player since his debut in February 2020. It is also the second most by a Manchester United player on record (2003/04 onwards), with Ryan Giggs doing so 34 times in that time.

However, while his chance creation remains unquestionable, the Portuguese international is like a fish out of water in the middle of the park. With Ruben Amorim intent on playing the 30-year-old in the midfield role, he will hope to step up instead of becoming a weak link for his side.

Prediction

Fulham 0-2 Manchester United

Manchester United spent the money early in the summer transfer window to overhaul the attack, and that reflected in the performance against Arsenal, even though it did not yield the desired result, or one that the Red Devils deserved. However, more of the same this weekend should get the away side the much-wanted three points.

Fulham will not go down without a fight, and Rodrigo Muniz will be a threat for a defensive unit that is still gelling together. However, the visitors should clinch the three points, with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko delivering the goods. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-0 win for Ruben Amorim and his charges.