Premier League: Eyes on the Top 4 for Manchester United!

Fulham vs Manchester United

Eleven points off the pace in the top four under Jose Mourinho last December, Manchester United are now just two points away from the Champions League places.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has overseen what could be said as the greatest turnaround in the Premier League this season, but his job is far from over as they remain outside the big four—looking at Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea.

Manchester United, however, have a chance to join the group and oust Chelsea in the process, especially with the Blues set to play league-leading City for the main event of the week.

Fulham aren’t expected to put up a fight, and the general consensus for United is that this fixture is theirs to lose.

Talking Points

Man United going for quality

Unbeaten in their first 10 games in all competition since Solskjaer took over, Manchester United’s rise is certainly not a fluke. They accumulated a record of nine wins and one draw during that stretch, scoring 25 goals in the process.

Remarkably, they have four clean sheets over that span and have conceded more than one goal in just one occasion—in their shocking 2-2 draw with Burnley last week.

Perhaps, the biggest change that happened for the Red Devils is their emphasis on counter-attacking football—a far contrast to the defensive, “park the bus” scheme implemented by Mourinho when he was in charge at Old Trafford.

As cited by Richard Fay of Manchester Evening News, Solskjaer has transformed Manchester United to the best counter-attacking team in the league. After averaging a measly 0.18 fast breaks per game, the Red Devils are now making 1.13, which leads the English top flight.

United’s new and more entertaining style of play was evident in their recent wins over Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal. Marcus Rashford scored the only goal against the Spurs after Paul Pogba split the defence wide open, while Anthony Martial sealed a comprehensive 1-3 FA Cup victory versus the Gunners with another counter.

However, it’s not only the style of play that improved for United. Under Solskjaer, quality has been the main criteria for roster selection.

Romelu Lukaku remains optimistic to get a playing time for Manchester United's Premier League game against Fulham — Romelu Lukaku looks frustrated during Manchester United’s Premier League match against Burnley

Romelu Lukaku, who was pegged to be the team’s primary striker, has been dropped to substitute duties. The Belgian has only made one Premier League start for the squad under the stewardship of Solskjaer, and it has paid off big time as Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were given opportunities to rediscover their form.

Paul Pogba, oft-criticised during Mourinho’s tenure, has been sensational as well—taking his game to another level and proving why United paid so much to bring him back. The French World Cup winner leads the team in scoring and assists with 11 and nine, respectively.

The likes of Juan Mata, Phil Jones and Andreas Pereira started and disappointed against Burnley, and as a result, they were moved to the bench in their latest win against Leicester City.

With Solskjaer using a method that works and doing the right thing when it comes to his Starting XI, it’s hard to see the Manchester outfit going down easily.

Future looks bleak for Fulham

While United are experiencing a renaissance, Fulham are under a quick decline. Unfortunately, there seems nothing they can do right now.

Currently 19th in the league, Claudio Ranieri’s team is three games away from survival. And winning that much isn’t an easy thing to do, especially for a club that has only four victories after 25 matches in the 2018-19 campaign.

Fulham have a reliable scorer in former Newcastle man Aleksandar Mitrovic. The Serbian international has 10 league goals to his name, even taking the Premier League 2019 highlights when he scored a brace against Brighton & Hove Albion to give the West London club their first top-flight win in the new year.

Nonetheless, Fulham’s defence is suspect, as they remain the worst defensive team in the league. They have already allowed 55 goals, nine more than the second-worst team in that department.

No other club has conceded more than 50 so far this season.

History

Fulham haven’t won against Manchester United since 2009, though they have spent more than half of the past eight years out of the top flight.

United took down Fulham 4-1 in their first encounter this season, thanks to Rashford who had a goal and two assists in the victory.

Before that, the two teams last played in the 2013-14 season. Manchester United won 1-3 at the Craven Cottage before Fulham forced a 2-2 draw in the return fixture at Old Trafford.

Betting Tip

	Fulham vs Manchester United	Manchester United Correct Score 0-3 @ 13.50
	February 09, 20:30 (GMT+8)

I don’t see Fulham challenging Manchester United here; not with the Premier League 2018 odds stacked against them; and not with United aiming for the top four.

Even the Asian Handicap odds at SBOBET point to a one-sided affair, giving Fulham a plus-handicap of up to 1.25 goals.

While Manchester United lose focus defensively at times, it’s hard to imagine anyone from Fulham threatening their backline. With that said, I predict another Manchester domination at London—one which could very well end with three goals to nothing.