Fulham vs Manchester United
The Cottagers host the Red Devils at Craven Cottage for a classic Premier League matchup. Fulham are starting to get their feet under them, and they intend to use that momentum and jolt their way up the league standings, but that won’t be a walk in the park when Manchester United knock on their door.
Manchester United, on the other hand, aim to make the most of their lax November slate in the Premier League. Ten Hag hopes to garner as many league points and bring structure to his erratic squad before they brave their taxing December schedule.
Talking Points
United dealing with problems on and off the field
The Red Devils can’t seem to catch a breath of fresh air as they battle with numerous issues like injuries, form, and management.
United have been disgruntled since the start of the season. They have lost five of their opening 10 Premier League matches this season, making this campaign their worst since 1986. Thus far, they have exhibited inconsistent play, with five victories and five losses. But even though they managed to win as much as they conceded, Ten Hag’s team has a goal differential of -5, the worst goal differential among the top 12 teams in the English top-flight.
Aside from struggling with form, United are also dealing with a plethora of players dealing with injuries. Luke Shaw, Lisandro Martinez, Casemiro, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka are some of the unavailable players for Ten Hag that could easily make an impact for the struggling club. And despite United being short of players, Erik Ten Hag is still adamant with his outlook on Jadon Sancho, who had been exiled from the lineup since their dispute began back in September.
Ten Hag and his team’s shaky start to their season is quite concerning, and it seems that there is still no concrete plan of action moving forward. But United have always been a resilient team, and they have a lot of sound-minded veterans who have their heads over their shoulders even during difficult patches in the season.
With their recent defeat in the Manchester derby, which headlined the Premier League 2023 news, the Red Devils are looking to gather themselves and take every criticism with a grain of salt. After their EFL Cup bout against New Castle, they visit Fulham to start their November slate in the Premier League. This would be an opportune month to turn their fortunes around before heading into their stacked December schedule.
Fulham starting to show some life
The Cottagers had a rough October as well. Fulham won their home game against Sheffield United in convincing fashion. They controlled the pace and dominated Sheffield in every facet of the match. Bobby De Cordova-Reid scored the opening goal for the Cottagers, which set the tone for the rest of the match.
That, though, was their only win in the month of October. That match against Sheffield was sandwiched by two clean-sheet losses against Chelsea and Tottenham. But Marco Silva was quick to adjust, and a focused Fulham squad quickly got their feet under them when they visited Brighton at Farmer Stadium last week.
It was a tale of two halves for the Cottagers, as they found themselves trailing in the first half. Silva was determined to punch back after halftime after his patented mid-game adjustments.
“I think we had too much respect for them in the first half. We didn’t decide well when to press, it was not a collective pressure and a lot of the time we arrived late. We started to have too many doubts with the moments to press and, of course, we were playing a side who connect really well from the first phase to the second phase. It was more difficult for us.” Silva stated after the match.
He added, “Second half was completely different. We were much more on the front foot, we pressed them higher and our reaction was really good. We have to give credit to the players. The reaction, the way we equalised, the big chance we had after we equalised. We showed good organisation to keep the result. At the end I think it was a fair result after our reaction in the second half.”
It’s looking like Fulham got a skip to their step after their perfect half against Brighton, which could be a catalyst for their ascension in the Premier League table.
History
The home squad has been struggling against Manchester United, as they have been winless in their last 15 matches against the Red Devils. Not to mention, United have won their last six away games in the Premier League against Fulham.
United have dominated their head-to-head matchups against Fulham. In the 36 times that these two clubs faced each other, United won 27 of them.
Betting Tip
The SBOTOP Premier League 2023 odds are on point with their lines for this match. This bout can go either way, and to have Manchester United as the slight favourites at 2.01 is pretty fair, considering that Fulham hold value at 3.30 to win.
The line I see that holds the most value is under 2.75 goals at 1.75. Given that both teams are slightly struggling to find the back of the net to start the season, under 2.75 goals seem to be very probable for this match, and for it to be priced at 1.75 makes it enticing for both conservative and thrill-seeking punters.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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