Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Photo by Nigel French/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images
Manchester United face Fulham on Sunday in what has become a must-win game for Michael Carrick.
This season has been a bit of a disaster for Manchester United with three losses in six, but a big win against Fulham ahead of the extended international break could change everything.
We expect seven changes from the side that Brighton beat 3-2 at Old Trafford mid-week in the Carabao Cup. Here are those changes.
Manchester United’s line-up vs Fulham
Here is how we expect United to line-up against Fulham.
Senne Lammens: Karl Darlow did nothing to trouble Lammens’ position as the clear and obvious number one goalkeeper. Lammens should be back against Fulham and a clean sheet has to be the target, although he will need a lot of help from those ahead of him.
Diogo Dalot: Wednesday was as bad a performance as we have seen from Dalot all year, but compared to the alternatives he feels like a pretty clear starter for United in this one. That being said, he needs to improve or Carrick could start looking elsewhere.
Harry Maguire: United’s defence was a disaster vs Brighton and so we fully expect to see the status quo restored against Fulham with Maguire starting the game. However, Matthijs de Ligt has also travelled and we expect to see him involved.
Lisandro Martinez: Partnering Maguire, we fully expect to see Martinez restored to the starting line-up where his on-ball quality alone outweighs the defensive weakness that he has. Carrick has been vindicated for playing the two more senior defenders and so it’ll continue.
Luke Shaw: Finally back in the fold against Fulham is Shaw who travelled for the fixture in London. United have really missed Shaw, as bad as he has been at times, and he quite simply has to start this one on the left of this trepid back four.
Youri Tielemans: Andrey Santos was impressive against Brighton with his defensive qualities shining through, but against Fulham, United will dominate possession and so Tielemans should start. Tielemans has become vital for Carrick already, but hopefully, we also get a glimpse of Carlos Baleba in the second-half, for his first minutes in red.
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Kobbie Mainoo: Having not started in the cup, Mainoo will almost certainly be starting against Fulham as he looks to continue his stellar individual season so far. Mainoo will want to do Carrick a favour by stepping up and helping guide United to what would be a huge and pivotal victory.
Shea Lacey: After scoring a great goal midweek against Brighton, Lacey should absolutely have earned his place in the starting line-up against Fulham. Bryan Mbeumo has been poor on the right, while Amad remains injured. So this is one change that should absolutely be made by Carrick, hopefully, he can use the goal to really nail down that starting role as his own.
Bruno Fernandes: In attacking midfield, to no surprise at all, Fernandes will and should be starting. He wasn’t able to bail Carrick out against Brighton and outside of the Ipswich game has struggled to be at his best. However, United need the captain to step up this weekend and under that pressure he should thrive and don’t be shocked to see him put in a trademark display.
Marcus Rashford: Before being withdrawn against Brighton, Rashford showed plenty to like and looked really dangerous again. Somehow he hasn’t scored or assisted yet, but he basically created Mason Mount’s goal against Brighton and could easily have a handful of assists. He will be raring to get his goal and assist tally off the mark vs Fulham. So he is an easy starter for this game.
Bryan Mbeumo: With Lacey in our right-wing spot, leading the line could be Mbeumo given how poor Matheus Cunha has been and that Benjamin Sesko isn’t in the squad. So Mbeumo leading the line would be our choice, hopefully with that false nine tactic.