Manchester United face a crucial fixture away at Fulham as they look to fix their recent slide under Michael Carrick before the international break
Michael Carrick looks on
Michael Carrick needs a good result this weekend (Image: Manchester United via Getty Images)
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Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa admits his side have respect for Manchester United but believes they can beat the Reds this weekend. Both teams have endured a poor start to the season ahead of their Super Sunday clash (4:30pm).
United have made their joint-worst start to a Premier League campaign, equalling last season's dismal start under Ruben Amorim and the 1992/93 campaign under Sir Alex Ferguson. Carrick succeeded Amorim on an interim basis in January and oversaw an impressive turnaround that resulted in a third-placed finish.
But United's poor start in 26/27 has put the former Reds midfielder under greater scrutiny after he was handed the permanent job in May. Carrick's men sit 13th after four games, a run which has included defeat at Hull City and a loss at home in the Manchester derby, albeit to an incorrectly awarded goal, despite playing against 10 men for much of that contest.
Problems at Old Trafford were then compounded by a shambolic defeat at home to Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup on Wednesday night. The collapse saw United lose after surrendering a two-goal lead at home.
Sunday's opponents, Fulham, have also endured a poor run and are winless in the top-flight so far this term. Now, new Cottagers head coach Arbeloa, who played and managed Real Madrid, has delivered his preview of this weekend's clash in west London.
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He said: “We are preparing for the game against Man United, and we are still believing that we can beat them, if we do a very good match from the first minute, and we know that we have to play at our best level – same level that we saw at Anfield – and that's our target.
“When I see the players that they have, you can see they can win the game in one second. Marcus Rashford, Matheus Cunha, Bruno Fernandes, Youri Tielemans, the fullbacks like to go forward.
Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa.
Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has also had his struggles (Image: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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“They have very talented and top players and, of course, they are Man United, so you know what it means, and like I said before, if we want to beat them – and we believe that we can beat them – we need to play at the very high level that we did at Anfield for 90 minutes.
“Even doing that, we couldn't beat Liverpool, we couldn't beat Chelsea. In both games, we did really well. So, we are facing one of the best teams in the world, we know that, and we need to be ready.
“Fulham is important, and I think our supporters deserve one victory against Man United. I know that is so difficult, and the last time that we beat them here at Craven Cottage was too many years ago, so we will give our best and try to give them a victory.”
Sunday's game will be the final fixture before an extended international break. United then return to action at home to Tottenham Hotspur on October 10 (5:30pm).