Manchester United v Fulham preview: First game of the season

This Friday sees Manchester United host Fulham in the opening round of the 2024/25 Premier League season.

Erik ten Hag’s side head into the fixture on the back of a Community Shield defeat to Manchester City last Saturday. United narrowly lost out 7-6 on penalties after missed attempts from Jonny Evans and Jadon Sancho led to the blue side of Manchester picking up early silverware.

The attention now turns to the Premier League and supporters of the 20-time champions have reason to be excited. The club have recently announced the arrival of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

The pair could be involved on Friday night as both partook in Bayern Munich’s pre-season campaign. Mazraoui played 101 minutes of the club’s pre-season friendlies, while de Ligt did not play any.

Team news

Luke Shaw sustained a calf injury during pre-season and will miss the opening games of the season. The number of games he is expected to miss has yet to be revealed.

Leny Yoro remains sidelined alongside Rasmus Hojlund after the injuries they picked up in the pre-season clash with Arsenal.

The lack of striking options available paves the way for a possible debut to be handed to Joshua Zirkzee. The striker has yet to get any game time for the club as he was an unused substitution in the Community Shield defeat.

Due to the departure of Aaron Wan-Bissaka and the recent arrival of Noussair Mazraoui, it could mean Lisandro Martinez begins the game on the left side as he did last week. Erik ten Hag may want to ease the new signings and therefore Diogo Dalot could fill the role of the right side of the centre-backs.

The importance of a positive start

Despite Manchester United having lost three out of six pre-season fixtures, there have been positives to take.

Amad Diallo will be expected to start by many supporters due to his impressive pre-season. He continued his imposing performances in the Community Shield, including setting up a great opportunity for Mason Mount.

After a prolonged decision-making process set out by INEOS surrounding the manager’s future earlier in the summer, he will be determined to silence doubters early on. A win on Friday will be sure to create a feel-good factor around the Theatre of Dreams. It will be crucial as the next fixture at the historic ground is the welcoming of Liverpool.

This huge fixture comes after United travel to the AMEX Stadium and take on Brighton in the early kickoff next Saturday.