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PREDICTED STARTING XI: Manchester United need a win against Fulham at Old Trafford

By Ollie Slack

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Manchester United will be hoping to avoid going three straight games without a win at Old Trafford when they take on Fulham this afternoon. But who will Jose Mourinho pick after a spirited performance against Arsenal in midweek?

Manchester United have only lost once again Fulham at Old Trafford in 54 years. Jose Mourinho and his team will be hoping to continue business as usual this afternoon in the hope that United can gain their first victory at Old Trafford in three games.

Against Arsenal, Mourinho named a strong starting XI, as expected. However, it did not feature star names such as Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku. But that did not seem to affect the team’s performance.

Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial gave United that energy needed to press from the front. And when they counter-attacked forward, they did so with creativity, movement and style.

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This continued into midfield too as, without Paul Pogba, both Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic performed well. Herrera giving United that added energy to press opponents into mistakes.

Jose Mourinho also opted for a three at the back system, but will he stick with it against strugglers Fulham? Here’s what our Red Devil Armada site experts predicted.

Ali Akbar

David De Gea

Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo, Matteo Darmian

Fred, Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba

Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial

Bailly did great against Arsenal, and although Rojo was at fault for their second goal, both were aggressive and showed great chemistry together, so they’ll probably be our starting centre-back partnership against Fulham.
Bailly did great against Arsenal, and although Rojo was at fault for their second goal, both were aggressive and showed great chemistry together, so they’ll probably be our starting centre-back partnership against Fulham. /

Although Dalot looked shaky at times, this will get better the more he plays, so he’ll likely keep his place at right-back.

Since United lacked creativity in midfield, Mourinho may decide to bring Fred back into the fold to remedy this.

Rashford, Martial and Lingard did well against the Gunners – showing a lot of energy, pace and creativity – so the front three will likely remain unchanged.

Ollie Slack

David De Gea

Diogo Dalot, Eric Bailly, Chris Smalling, Ashley Young

Nemanja Matic, Paul Pogba

Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard, Anthony Martial

Romelu Lukaku

Diogo Dalot deserves to keep his place in the side today after a mixed performance against Arsenal in the week. Hopefully against Fulham today there will be more chance to venture forward and show us his ability.

United’s best two central defenders will start together today in my view with Ashley Young making a return at left back no he is fit, despite a good show by Matteo Darmian on Wednesday.
United’s best two central defenders will start together today in my view with Ashley Young making a return at left back no he is fit, despite a good show by Matteo Darmian on Wednesday. /

I believe Jose Mourinho will switch back to a two-man midfield against Fulham in a bid to apply maximum pressure to their goal.

The front three of Marcus Rashford, Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial should all keep their place but I think Mourinho will want to bring Romelu Lukaku back into the fold as he did against Crystal Palace two weeks ago.

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There will be less space to counter today with Fulham sitting deep, so I expect Lukaku having to receive the ball with his back to goal a lot, laying the ball off for those around him.

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