Under-fire Manchester United (Man United) manager Erik ten Hag will seek to save his job when his team visits Fulham at Craven Cottage in the first Premier League match on Saturday, a must-win encounter.
United are in eighth place in the Premier League table at the moment and are in desperate need of a result to save the job of Ten Hag, who has been under fire for United’s poor form.
The Red Devils have suffered back-to-back 3-0 defeats ahead of the Saturday lunchtime kick-off, losing to Manchester City in the derby and a shambolic Carabao Cup display at home to Newcastle.
History is on United’s side for the trip to Craven Cottage, however, as they are unbeaten in their last 17 games against Fulham, a run stretching back almost 14 years.
The West Londoners are currently in 14th place in the Premier League standings and have not been at their best so far this season. The home side eased past Ipswich Town by a comfortable 3-1 scoreline last week and will look to achieve a similar result in this fixture.
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But they may feel there has never been a better time to end their long wait to beat their bogey team.
Ten Hag will be banking on Marcus Rashford to return to form based on the hard work and quality he displays in training.
Rashford produced the best season of his career during Ten Hag’s first campaign in charge, racking up 30 goals and 11 assists from 56 appearances across all competitions.
Speaking in his post-match conference on Friday Ten Hag is also convinced that the England International will shine again.
“Absolutely. And, also, I am sure that he will be back on track,” Ten Hag said.
“I see him in training performing so well so I think that before long, he will be back on track. He will make a lot of goals for us and he will be so very important for us.
“Once we find our rhythm, once the team finds its rhythm, it is also easier for him.”
Former Man United striker Dimitar Berbatov has predicted the Red Devils to play out a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage but noted that the Red Devils still have to win the match.
“Man United have to win. They need points. Fulham also need points, even though they’re not struggling, they could do better. Man United also played in midweek so they have a tough schedule at the moment, so I’ll go for a draw here,” Berbatov said.
Casemiro has been ruled out for several weeks with a hamstring injury. Raphael Varane is undoubtedly due to illness, while they remain without Amad Diallo, Tyrell Malacia, Lisandro Martinez, Jadon Sancho and Luke Shaw.
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