Manchester United v Fulham: Prediction, Tips and Odds

The 2024/25 Premier League starts on Friday night with a tasty-looking showdown between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford.

Erik ten Hag has spent big in a bid to get United challenging for the top four once again while Fulham head north after undergoing a far quieter summer refit.

Manchester United v Fulham betting tips and predictions

Fulham Draw no Bet - 3/1

The season starts here with Manchester United welcoming Fulham to Old Trafford where the visitors ought to be confident of springing something of a night-one surprise.

There is certainly an air of quiet confidence at the Cottage heading north to a venue where they won last season, 2-1.

Two mid-division finishes since promotion made hot properties of the likes of midfieder Joao Palhinha and manager Marco Silva and while one left, the other has stayed.

Indeed, Silva has not made too many personnel changes with Jorge Cuenca arriving from Villarreal to offer an alternative in central defence and Emile Smith Rowe a positive addition to his forward options.

But it wasn't broken so there was nothing to fix and Fulham go to Manchester fresh from pre-season wins over the likes of Benfica and Hoffenheim confident they can pick up points from the off.

And United fans know that under Ten Hag, game one is not where you expect to see the Red Devils at their best.

Their first Premier League game under the Dutchman at the start of 2022/23 was a wretched 2-1 loss to Brighton. Twelve months later, again at home, they somehow beat Wolves 1-0 despite being played off the park.

You could argue they have already played a season opener - last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Manchester City in the Community Shield in which they more than held their own - but first league games of a campaign under Ten Hag have undeniably been poor.

Ten Hag could hand out three debuts to new defenders Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui and striker Joshua Zirkzee.

But given how unreliable United were last season, how early it is in the season and how decent Fulham were at Old Trafford last term, the Cottagers - with the draw no bet as a safety valve - doesn't look a bad bet at 3/1.

Andreas Pereira to score or assist - 2/1

Marco Silva has a classy bunch of forwards at his disposal with Andreas Pereira a key member of the trio who will operate off Rodrigo Muniz.

The former Manchester United schemer is a creative talent and a dead-ball specialist who looks a decent bet at 2/1 to either score or assist.

This United defence, with or without new recruits, can be exposed and Pereira is just the sort of player who can orchestrate its downfall.

Last season at Craven Cottage the Brazilian scored three goals and had seven assists. In his first season there he scored four times and had six assists.

Over 4.5 Cards - 6/5

United and Fulham shared the distinction of collecting 82 cards last season, middling numbers in the division and working out at around 2.2 cards per game.

However, in the matches against each other, there were seven yellows in United's 1-0 win at Craven Cottage and another seven yellows in Fulham's 2-1 win at Old Trafford.

Rob Jones is in charge at Old Trafford. The last time he refereed Fulham - March's 3-0 win over Spurs - he produced five yellows. The last time he refereed United - May's 3-2 win over Newcastle - he produced six yellows.

And he warmed up for Friday night by taking charge on Tuesday night of a Europa League tie between The New Saints and Petroclub of Moldova, a game in which he showed seven yellow cards and two reds.

Over 4.5 cards on Friday night at 6/5 looks real value against that background.

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Manchester United v Fulham odds

Manchester United - 4/7
Draw - 10/3
Fulham - 17/4

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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.