- Fulham have drawn two of their last three opening matches in league campaigns
- Manchester United have won just four of their last 13 Premier League games
- Recommended bet: Draw

Manchester United suffered a painful penalty shootout loss to Manchester City in the Community Shield and they will be eager to respond when taking on Fulham in the opening game of the 2024-25 Premier League season.

Erik ten Hag’s side papered over some fairly wide cracks with their 2-1 success over City in last season’s FA Cup final, but they will be expected to improve substantially on their league form.

The Red Devils’ eighth-place finish last term was their worst effort in a top-flight campaign since 1989-90, although it was 13 points superior to Fulham, who ended up just below mid-table.

Fulham have put together a pair of solid campaigns since winning promotion in 2021-22 and their first priority will be to steer clear of the relegation scrap.

Team news

Leny Yoro, Tyrell Malacia and Rasmus Hojlund are ruled out and Victor Lindelof and Luke Shaw will need to be assessed after missing the Community Shield with minor injuries.

Fulham appear to have come through pre-season with a clean bill of health but they must find a midfield replacement for Joao Palhinha, who completed a summer move to Bayern Munich.

New signings Jorge Cuenca, Ryan Sessegnon and Emile Smith Rowe hope to make their debuts.

The stats

United had gone nine Premier League games without keeping a clean sheet until they won 2-0 at Brighton on the final weekend of last season.

The Red Devils have won only four of their last 13 league matches.

Fulham are unbeaten in their last three season openers although they have drawn two of them.

Three of the Cottagers’ last five league fixtures have generated at least four goals.

Prediction

Fulham triumphed 2-1 at Old Trafford in February this year and they can pick up a point on this week’s visit to the Theatre of Dreams.

The start of the season may have arrived a little sooner than ideal for United, who came up short against a below strength Manchester City in last Saturday’s Community Shield.

A Red Devils rebuild is taking place with a clear emphasis on lowering the average age of the squad.

But there is no instant fix to United’s problems and even a top-four finish might be a tough ask for a club which appears to be very much in transition.

Fulham’s ambitions are more modest and the Cottagers have a hole to fill in midfield after the departure of Portuguese international Palhinha to Bayern Munich.

However, Marco Silva’s side are quite capable of troubling the top teams and they can kick-off the campaign with a creditable draw.

Back the draw at 16/5 with LiveScore Bet