This will be the third time we face off against Marco Silva and his side as United take on the Cottagers in the 5th round of the FA Cup, a competition that is all important in trying to salvage something from this horrific campaign, pretty much the same as last year️.
United cannot afford to lose as while the league maybe a disaster, we know that the cups provide a distraction from the PL and with our good track record in cup games, I believe there is a chance that we could get through, even in our terrible state.
Predicted Lineup
This is being done well in advance of the game itself. In fact, at the time of writing this, we haven't played Ipswich yet! I'm away for the next few days which is why this is being done now so forgive me if this team is completely off.
But as you can see, quite a few changes to the team.
Onana keeps his place even though Bayindir has been the cup goalkeeper. However, as the Turk has been injured in recent weeks, I'm not sure whether he'll be back for this one and if he is, I'm not sure how fit he'll be.
If he is fine, then he will most likely start.
If Mazraoui hasn't played against Ipswich, then there's no doubt that he'll return to the XI for this one. If so, I've dropped Maguire with United playing a back three of Mazraoui, De Ligt and Yoro, which will be the first time we see that.
For some reason, I believe that Amorim will bring back Casemiro to the starting lineup. This will mean that Bruno will play as a number 10 alongside Eriksen, who much like Casemiro, I have a feeling that the manager will select the Dane.
Garnacho and Zirkzee will have to be content with spots on the bench.
And as you can see, a first start for Chido Obi.
Many have been calling for the youngster to start thanks to the poor form of Hojlund and Zirkzee not being an actual striker. Perhaps Amorim will look at this game as a chance to play the lad despite it being a risk as it is a must-win.
This is part of the reason why I wouldn't be surprised if he did start Hojlund or Zirkzee up front.
Approach
I don't really know how we go about in this game. We saw that we struggled against relegation fodder so a good team like Fulham will cause us trouble. They've also had an extra day rest which could help them.
United need to start off like a house on fire which gets the crowd going and can put some pressure onto our opponents.
We know that this though, has been a problem of ours all season. Amorim's players don't set the right tempo at the start of matches resulting in very drab performances.
Before the match against Ipswich, the MUFC boss was talking about his side's lack of a cutting edge in the final third as he cited them as not being dangerous enough and that they don't create chances in the attack.
Yes. 100% yes.
This is an issue that has been apparent for many years which has caused the term 'graveyard shift' to be dubbed to the strikers of United due to the team not creating too many goal scoring opportunities.
A lot of this has to do with movement and taking too long on the ball. We often get frustrated because the team is too static and that we tend to take more touches than required before playing a pass. The wing-backs also don't whip in crosses first time which leaves the centre-forward throwing his arms up in the air in annoyance that the delivery wasn't played.
These wide areas of the pitch are so important in an Amorim system as a lot of the attacking play comes from the flanks. If we don't make good use of them, then what's the point?
More than this though, and I hate to have to keep saying the same thing but we just need the players to show up. There's been enough examples across the season where we've done just that and got a good performance.
Form
While league form doesn't come into this, we can take some momentum from our last game, if we beat Ipswich.
In this competition though, we've had quite the run since the start of last year's tournament.
It began with a routine 2-0 win at Wigan but that was followed by a 4-2 triumph over Newport County in a game where United were leading 2-0. We threw the lead away and had to win the match late on.
Another late win came after that as we relied on a Casemiro header in the 89th minute to get us through the 5th round last season at Forest.
THAT 4-3 game against those fools came after and we then managed to take the game to penalties against the mighty Coventry in the semifinals despite being 3-0 up with 30 minutes to go.
The final against City was always going to be a bit of a spectacle because it's a final, it's a Manchester Derby (the second in a row) and there was a lot riding on that game for United and specifically Erik ten Hag.
Luckily, we managed to get the win and lift a second trophy under the Dutchman.
This season began pretty much where last season left off with another incredible game this time at Arsenal.
The odds were already stacked against us but to then have to play with 10 men against 12 yet win the match on penalties was an incredible achievement.
Even our previous game against Leicester, that was one where we had to come from behind and then win it with the last kick of the game. Maguire was offside as well but that isn't our problem.
Can we not just get one normal day of Barclays in this compeitition?
I suppose when we win it doesn't matter but it would be nice to not have to go through a rollercoaster of emotions whenever playing in the FA Cup.
Fulham
Marco Silva and co are one of the more tougher teams to face as they always give anyone a game. Their last match also saw them get a good one at Wolves which will have given them added confidence.
In their FA Cup journey so far, the Cottagers unlike United, managed to pick up two routine wins, one over Silva's former side Watford and the other over Wigan.
We've already faced them twice this season with both matches being tight. United did get the victories in both those league meetings as they ended 1-0 but it was tough going.
This along with the forms of United and Fulham would suggest a close encounter of the third kind. See what I did there 😏?
Prediction
As it will be close and we don't do things easy in this competition, it will probably be another game for the ages. As long as we win though, I think that that is all that matters.
Considering we do somehow come away from the cup competitions with victories, this is our trophy and we desperately need to win at least the FA Cup or Europa League, I think we'll get the job done.
2-1 United.
Background player image: Andre Onana | Image via Manchester United official X (@ManUtd)