Thomas Hein
Erik ten Hag’s stuttering Manchester United side will travel to Fulham on Sunday evening targeting a victory in the final match before the World Cup break.
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After a bumpy first part to the Premier League campaign, ten Hag will likely welcome the respite the upcoming World Cup break should offer.
There have been plenty of high points for the Dutch boss, yet the good times have been matched to low moments, with Sunday’s defeat against Aston Villa falling into that category.
Slumping two goals behind early on, a deflected Luke Shaw strike looked to have handed the Red Devils a route back into the clash before a Villa third in the second half ended all hopes.
While frustrating, the defeat was only United’s first in the Premier League since last month’s hammering to rivals Manchester City.
In fact, across all competitions, it was just the first time ten Hag’s side had tasted defeat in 10 matches, having successfully negotiated their Europa League group in previous outings.
Unable to top their Europa League group, Monday’s play-off draw did see United paired with fellow European giants Barcelona, with a mouth-watering knockout clash with La Blaugrana set to take place next February.
However, in the here and now, United has an opportunity to right the wrongs of last weekend’s defeat during their trip to craven Cottage.
It is the final Premier League fixture before the World Cup break, with Marco Silva’s men no doubt eyeing a scalp against an inconsistent United side.
Narrowly beaten by City last time out, a 95th-minute Erling Haaland penalty gave the reigning champions a fortunate victory and Fulham will be keen to bounce back in style.
In recent years, this is a fixture that has yielded fruitful rewards for United, with the Red Devils having taken three points in their last five visits to Craven Cottage.
A sharp contrast to previous results in West London, having won none of their trips to the Cottage prior to that.
Away form has been an issue for United so far this season and ten Hag will be targeting a first victory on the road for his side since early October.
Expect the visitors to dominate against Fulham on Sunday evening, with three vital points on the cards for United before the World Cup break.
