Two Portuguese Premier League bosses embrace on the Craven Cottage touchline this Sunday, as Fulham welcome Manchester United for a fascinating gameweek two contest.
While Marco Silva's men left it astonishingly late to salvage a 1-1 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend, there was no such reprieve for Ruben Amorim's men in a 1-0 loss to Arsenal.
Match preview
Almost every Man United defeat in the 2024-25 season - a record-breaking year for all the wrong reasons - brought a sense of doom and gloom, but last Sunday's agonising reverse to Arsenal should have instead provoked a sense of optimism for the months ahead.
Riccardo Calafiori was the beneficiary of Altay Bayindir's goalkeeping gaffe to head home the winning goal, as Man United fell victim to Arsenal's set-piece mastery yet again, but on the balance of play, one cannot claim that the Gunners were full value for all three points.
Summer signings Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha consistently carried the threat to the Arsenal backline, but a combination of wasteful finishing and a man-of-the-match performance from David Raya proved to be the Red Devils' undoing, as Amorim suffered a 15th Premier League loss from 28 games since taking charge.
To put that number into even greater context, the Portuguese lost just 14 of his 167 Primeira Liga matches while in charge of Sporting Lisbon, although his side suffering back-to-back defeats on Sunday may not be the harbinger of doom some might feel it would be.
Indeed, Man United have only ever lost their opening two games of a Premier League season twice; firstly in the inaugural 1992-93 edition - when they wound up as champions - and then again in the 2022-23 campaign, when Erik ten Hag led them to a third-placed finish and an EFL Cup triumph.
Fulham head coach Marco Silva on August 9, 2025
However, a run of four losses and a draw from their last five Premier League away games hardly stands Man United in good stead, although Fulham have many wrongs to right at home, where they are on a sequence of three consecutive top-flight defeats.
Chelsea, Everton and Manchester City all prevailed at Craven Cottage in the second half of last season, putting head coach Silva at risk of an unwanted first; he has never lost four straight league home matches in his entire managerial career, for Fulham or any other team.
The Cottagers were on the cusp of starting their 2025-26 season on the back foot too, as Matt O'Riley's penalty was ostensibly enough to propel Brighton to a slender win on the South Coast, only for Rodrigo Muniz to produce a last-gasp leveller as transfer speculation continued to swirl.
Silva has now expressed confidence that the Atalanta BC-linked frontman will stay at Craven Cottage, where Fulham can draw inspiration from their FA Cup penalty-shootout success over Man United in March, but it is a different story as far as the top flight is concerned.
Lisandro Martinez was the hero in a 1-0 victory for the Red Devils in this exact fixture last season, as Man United made it eight wins on the bounce away to Fulham in the Premier League, and the Red Devils could now achieve nine straight away league victories against a single opponent for the first time ever.
Fulham Premier League form:
Manchester United Premier League form:
Team News
Manchester United's Andre Onana on April 1, 2025
It is as you were on the injury front for Man United, who remain without last season's Craven Cottage match-winner Martinez (knee) and Noussair Mazraoui (hamstring), but Amorim otherwise has a fully-fit squad available to him.
The Red Devils boss confirmed on Friday that goalkeeper Andre Onana is fit and available for selection, but he refused to guarantee whether the Cameroonian would be back in the squad after being brutally snubbed last weekend, where Bayindir once again failed to make the most of his opportunity.
At the other end of the field, £73.7m striker Benjamin Sesko was a second-half substitute in the loss to Arsenal, and the Slovenian will certainly have his eyes on Mason Mount's spot in the capital.
Likewise, Fulham's only two fitness concerns also lie in defence, as left-back duo Ryan Sessegnon (unspecified) and Antonee Robinson (knee) were both missing from the squad to face Brighton last weekend.
However, Silva refused to rule either man out of Sunday's game in his pre-match press conference, although Calvin Bassey is still the most likely candidate to line up on the left-hand side of the backline.
Further forward, Raul Jimenez will certainly be fearing for his place after Muniz's South Coast heroics, while Silva also has a critical dilemma to solve in the number 10 role, where Josh King, Emile Smith Rowe and former Red Devil Andreas Pereira are all options.
Fulham possible starting lineup:
Leno; Tete, Andersen, Cuenca, Bassey; Berge, Lukic; Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Muniz
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Diallo, Fernandes, Casemiro, Dorgu; Mbeumo, Cunha; Sesko
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We say: Fulham 1-2 Manchester United
The 1-0 scoreline against Arsenal did not tell the full story for Man United, who showcased plenty of attacking intent but lacked ruthlessness when it mattered most, as well as facing a goalkeeper in inspired form.
If Amorim's new-look attack can generate a similar volume of chances here, a record-breaking victory could be on the cards, as Fulham's offensive forces should not match up to the £200m Sesko-Mbeumo-Cunha trio.
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