Manchester United vs Fulham will set the ball rolling for the 2024/25 Premier League season.
It is the perfect opener for fans of the league, who watched as Erik ten Hag led the Red Devils to their worst season ever.
His role was in jeopardy, but then he won the FA Cup, beating Manchester City and preventing them from scoring in the process. This earned him a million points which put him back in the green with the club’s administration as well as with a certain part of the fanbase.
The rest of the fanbase has him on “fraud watch” having not forgiven him for some of the comments he made in their poor 2023/24 season as well as how he led the team to their worst finish since 1990, in Sir Alex Ferguson’s early years.
Fulham will go into the match with some confidence, having ended a winless run at Old Trafford that stretched back to 2003 last season. However, they will hope that their defensive problems do not rear their ugly head as they seek a huge win to open their season.
Keep reading for match ticket information, team news, previews and predictions for the game.
Ticket information
Manchester United vs Fulham is the opening match of the 2024/25 Premier League season and for this reason, the tickets will not last long on the shelves.
Whatever new technology, new rules or bits of information that the Premier League governing board will be rolling out for the new season and beyond will be first seen at this match.
It is also an important game for the Red Devils, who ended last season with their worst top-flight record in club history. Many fans will be in the stands, waiting to see how they play against an opponent that overperformed in the league last season to almost usurp them.
Get the tickets to the game on Manchester United’s official club website and Fulham’s official club website. Travelling fans can buy Man United vs Fulham tickets from trusted ticket resellers like seatsnet.com
Team news
At the time of writing, Manchester United have let go of the following players:
● Anthony Martial
● Raphaël Varane
● Aaron Wan-Bissaka
● Álvaro Fernández Carreras
● Shola Shoretire
● Omari Forson
● Brandon Williams
● Donny van de Beek
They have also let Sofyan Amrabat return to Fiorentina and are preparing to let go of Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood.
Meanwhile, they have closed a £40 million deal for Joshua Zirkzee, who will be a like-for-like replacement for Anthony Martial. They also have their sights set on Jarrad Branthwaite, Matthijs De Ligt and Leny Yoro, three exciting and young centrebacks.
Young Kobbie Mainoo is surely going to get more prominence in the Manchester United squad in the 2024/25 season, especially after his performance for England at the Euros. He could even start the game against Fulham.
Fulham, meanwhile, have let go of Bobby DeCordova-Reid (free transfer to Leicester City) and Tosin Adarabioyo (free transfer to Chelsea). João Palhinha, the Premier League’s best tackler of 2023/24, has been moved on to Bayern Munich for a club-record fee, which means Cairney will get the run for that match. Fulham will also be looking to replace the Portuguese’s talents having bagged a substantial amount from the German giants.
Fodé Ballo-Touré has also returned to AC Milan after an unimpressive loan, and they have let go of Terence Kongolo.
Manchester United possible XI: Onana; Shaw, Martinez, Maguire, Dalot; Rashford, Mainoo, Eriksen, Garnacho; Fernandes, Højlund.
Fulham possible XI: Leno; Robinson, Bassey, Ream, Tete; Reed, Cairney; Traore, Iwobi, Pereira; Muniz.
Match preview
The spoils of the Manchester United vs Fulham matches in the 2023/24 season were shared equally between both sides. However, both sides did not get their wins at home.
United travelled to Craven Cottage in November 2023 and came away with a 1 – 0 win and then in February 2024, Fulham went to Old Trafford, the venue of this opening match, and came away with a 2 – 1 win.
That was not just unprecedented, but it was a first for the Cottagers in decades. They have lost 13 of their last 17 away games with only the February 2024 outing ending up as a win. This bit of information tells you that the head-to-head record does not favour the West London club in any way.
Manchester United will also be going into the game with the confidence of champions. They will have faced Manchester City in the FA Community Shield (get your Community Shield Manchester City vs Manchester United tickets here) before the Fulham match and this will fill them with the necessary oomph to start the season on a high.
We expect a conservative approach from Marco Silva and his Fulham team especially since they do not have the tackling prowess of Palhinha anymore. There will be more pressure on Cairney and Reed at the base of Silva’s midfield but we do not expect them to be overrun by United.
Meanwhile, ten Hag will have the talents of Zirkzee to call off the bench as well. This should be the match where the Dutchman makes his debut as he gets slowly introduced to the pace of the Premier League. Ten Hag also has an emergency striker in midfielder Scott McTominay.
The match kicks off at 8 PM UK time at Old Trafford on August 16, 2024.
Prediction
Our first prediction is that the Manchester United vs Fulham tickets will be sold out faster than you think. Hurry over to the clubs’ websites or to ticket reselling platforms like seatsnet.com to get your ticket to see the first game of the new season.
Our next prediction is that this is going to be a cracker of a game. Despite our expectation of Silva (a conservative approach), Fulham packs enough speed in Rodrigo Muniz, Adama Traore and Kenny Tete to do damage to United on the break. United will control the game, however.
Manchester United 2 – 0 Fulham
