Manchester United and Fulham will both be on the hunt for their first Premier League win of the season on Sunday afternoon at Craven Cottage.
Despite playing well, Ruben Amorim’s Man United side were unable to score against Arsenal, and owing to Altay Bayindir’s mistake, they surrendered all three points.
On the other hand, Fulham rescued a late draw away to Brighton & Hove Albion down on the south coast.
Rodrigo Muniz scored after coming on from the bench, and he’s clearly a striker who Marco Silva would benefit from keeping hold of.
And to that end, TBR Football have just exclusively revealed that Fulham will offer Muniz a new contract to stay.
Chris Kavanagh appointed as referee for Fulham vs Manchester United
Looking ahead to Sunday’s game between Fulham and United, fans of both clubs might be stunned by the Premier League’s decision to appoint Chris Kavanagh as the referee.
Back in 2023, Kavanagh famously sent off two Fulham players and Silva in an FA Cup tie which ended in a 3-1 win for United.
Chris Kavanagh sends off Fulham's Aleksandar Mitrovic against Man United.
Photo by PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
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In the 70th minute of the game whilst Fulham were 1-0 up, Kavanagh missed an obvious goal-saving Willian handball on the line, needing VAR to intervene.
In the aftermath of the decision, Silva was then sent off for his protests.
And if that wasn’t enough, Aleksandar Mitrovic was then sent off as well for his actions towards the referee, ones which rightfully resulted in a lengthy ban for the striker.
And although Kavanagh’s three red cards all look well justified in hindsight, it seems fair to say that the referee isn’t up there with the most popular among Fulham fans.
Moreover, with the benefit of choice, it’s surprising that the PGMOL decided to put Kavanagh on the same fixture just two years later, an unnecessary point of contention.
Bruno Fernandes’ remarkable record against Fulham
In terms of Sunday’s match, United might have a trump card up their sleeve in the shape of Bruno Fernandes.
Although he might play deeper for United this season once Benjamin Sesko is starting every week, Fernandes has scored five goals in 10 games against Fulham, a team he seemingly enjoys playing against.
Competition Games Wins Draws Losses Goals Assists
Premier League 8 6 1 1 2 1
FA Cup 2 1 0 1 3 0
Fernandes’ record against Fulham in all competitions (source: Transfermarkt).
Of course, from a United perspective, it’ll be interesting to see if Sesko starts at Craven Cottage.
Ian Wright was impressed by Sesko’s United debut, but Amorim might still give his new striker more time to settle.
Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha were superb against Arsenal, and the United manager might see very little need to rush the Slovenian.