How many points can Fulham take off Manchester United?

By Stephen Darwin on December 19th, 2009

Fulham v Manchester United
English Premier League
Saturday, December 19, 2009
Kickoff: 15:00 GMT
Craven Cottage

Manchester United travel to west London desperate to keep the pressure on current Premier League leaders Chelsea, while Fulham will be just as determined to keep pace with the rest in what is developing into an intensive battle for the European slots.

With the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City all jostling for a spot in the holy grail that is the Champions League, Fulham boss Roy Hodgson will know that his side will have to work doubly hard to ensure they book their place in the Europa League once again next season.

With Chelsea once again playing a day after United, the Red Devils have another chance to move level on points with the Blues, if only temporarily. Sir Alex Ferguson’s charges dispatched of a much maligned Wolverhampton Wanderers side on Tuesday but will certainly face a far more challenging test at Craven Cottage against an in-form Fulham.

Fulham, buoyed by their qualification to the last 32 of the Europa League (where they will face Shakhtar Donetsk) and now unbeaten in six games, will be under no illusions with regards to the potential threat that United can pose and Hodgson will know his side must be on their game for the visit of the champions.

That said, supporters of the 2008 Champions League winners won’t look back at last season’s meeting with too many fond memories as the Cottagers triumphed 2-0 with both Paul Scholes and Wayne Rooney seeing red.

FORM GUIDE

Fulham

16 Dec: FC Basel 2-3 Fulham (Europa League)
12 Dec: Burnley 1-1 Fulham (Premier League)
6 Dec: Fulham 1-0 Sunderland (Premier League)
3 Dec: Fulham 1-0 CSKA Sofia (Europa League)
28 Nov: Fulham 1-1 Bolton Wanderers (Premier League)

Manchester United

15 Dec: Manchester United 3-0 Wolves (Premier League)
12 Dec: Manchester United 0-1 Aston Villa (Premier League)
8 Dec: Wolfsburg 1-3 Manchester United (Champions League)
05 Dec: West Ham United 0-4 Manchester United (Premier League)
1 Dec: Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (League Cup)

TEAM NEWS

Fulham

Andrew Johnson will likely miss out for the Cottagers having suffered a set-back on his comeback from a groin injury.

Skipper Danny Murphy completed his return from a recent injury after playing the full 90 minutes against FC Basel in midweek, so he may be left out against the champions.

Simon Davies remains sidelined with an ankle problem while Brede Hangeland, Clint Dempsey, Damien Duff and Paul Konchesky should all come back into the side having been left out in Switzerland.

Possible starting XI: Schwarzer; Konchesky, Hangeland, Hughes, Pantsil; Duff, Greening, Baird, Gera; Dempsey, Zamora.

Manchester United

United’s injury problems at the back continue to worsen as Nemanja Vidic is now rated as doubtful due to a calf problem.

The Red Devils are already missing Gary Neville (groin), Rafael da Silva (ankle/foot), Rio Ferdinand (calf), Jonny Evans (calf) and John O’Shea (thigh) through injury and with Wes Brown (hamstring) a real doubt, Ferguson will be desperately hoping that Vidic manages to pull through.

Ryan Giggs (hamstring) is another who is facing a race against time be fit while Nani (ankle/foot) is very unlikely to be involved.

Possible starting XI: Kuszczak; Evra, Carrick, Vidic, De Laet; Giggs, Scholes, Fletcher, Valencia; Rooney, Berbatov.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fulham – Bobby Zamora

Following criticism from his own supporters, Zamora has the bit between his teeth at the minute and is seemingly hell-bent on proving his doubters wrong. The 30-year-old has managed nine goals so far this season and will be keen to prove his attacking credentials against opposition of the highest quality come Saturday afternoon.

Manchester United – Nemanja Vidic

With Ferdinand and Evans currently sidelined, Vidic has certainly had to step up and make his presence felt as one of the more senior figures in what has, at times, been a fundamentally makeshift United backline. The return of Wes Brown has definitely helped matters although Vidic will need to have his wits about him on Saturday if United are to claim all three points.

PREDICTION

It was always going to be a tricky trip to west London for United but given their mounting injury problems in defence, I think Sir Alex Ferguson will be pretty satisfied if his team manage to come away with a point.

Fulham 1-1 Manchester United

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by Stephen Darwin, Goal.com

Topics: English Premier League, Fulham, Manchester United, Match Reports