Fulham have been scrapping, and Álvaro Arbeloa has them organised. They gave Liverpool an excellent run for their money recently, and that performance is the template. But the margins are thin. Tom Cairney is out with a knee problem, and Tete joins him on the absentee list. Ryan Sessegnon is pushing for a return from a groin issue but faces a late fitness test. At Craven Cottage, Fulham are usually stubborn, but they have not been blowing teams away.

Manchester United arrive with back-to-back defeats, and the manner of them stings. A two-goal collapse and a loss against ten men have cranked up the noise around Michael Carrick. Yet this is still a United side with attacking talent. Bruno Fernandes is back, and Marcus Rashford and Benjamin Sesko give them pace and presence. The concern is defensive solidity. Harry Maguire has been in the heart of a backline that has leaked goals, and that is the soft underbelly Fulham will target.

Momentum is with neither side, but United have the better players in the final third. Fulham's recent home form has been mixed, and they have struggled to turn draws into wins. United, for all their issues, have the firepower to punish a team that sits deep. The form lines are ugly, but the talent gap is real.