Expected XI for Manchester United against Fulham - Part 1
Manchester United is gearing up for its second match in the English Premier League against a spirited Fulham side today. The team kicked off their EPL campaign a few days back in flying colours when they defeated newly promoted Newcastle United with a 3-0 drubbing at home. Goals from Dimitar Berbatov, Darren Fletcher and Ryan Giggs saw United cruise past Newcastle in a game where Manchester United may have scored more goals. The game was easily dominated by the men in red as most of the game was played in Newcastle’s half.
However, Manchester United now travels to Craven Cottage to face Fulham in their second match of the premier league. This is never an easy feat as Fulham pose a huge threat when playing at home. Last year, Manchester United was comprehensively defeated by the Cottagers with a score of 3-0 at final whistle. Fulham, which is under former Manchester United forward Mark Hughes, will look to improve their impressive home record. Sir Alex Ferguson however would be looking to win every fixture owing to the constant threat posed by Chelsea.
Fulham had a dream run in the Europa league last season when they managed to reach the final of the inaugural league. The team defeated heavy weights Juventus, Ajax, Hamburg and Wolfsburg at home, which would pose a great threat to Manchester United. However, the manager who led the team back then has resigned to take over Liverpool, paving way for Mark Hughes.
Let’s have a look at the possible starting XI for Manchester United for the all important fixture:
Goal-keeper: Edwin Van der Sar
An obvious choice for Sir Alex Ferguson; the Dutch goal keeper has been phenomenal between the poles. The seemingly never aging Edwin Van Der Sar didn’t have much work to do while playing against Newcastle but expertly saved all the shots pointed at him. The goal-keeper is a former Fulham player after spending 4 years at Craven Cottage. The player joined Manchester United back in 2005 and has won three EPL medals and one Champions League medal. Individually, the player has won the European goal glove in 2009 as well as winning the premier league golden glove in 2008. It would take a lot for Fulham’s forwards to beat this man, who has the experience, skill and athleticism needed to be a perfect goal-keeper. The goal-keeper needs to keep his calm in front of goal as he would be showered by attacks from Fulham’s forward. Hughes would like to come at United rather than defending and Van Der Sar’s quick reactions would be instrumental for the club’s overall success
Right back: John O’Shea
One of Manchester United’s proud home grown players, O’Shea is the only player to have played in every position for the club. The player missed most of the last season owing to an injury but is now fully fit. The player featured against Newcastle United where he performed his duties quite well. The player came forward as well as provided a covering for the central defender. O’Shea has the ability to feature as a centre back along with the ability to play as a defensive midfielder. This makes O’Shea the perfect man for the job of a right back and he will be expected to start against Fulham. Mark Hughes has a habit of employing a standard 4-4-2 combination and will come with all guns blazing. O’Shea will be expected to do a double duty, as he would be needed to assist the right flank as well as cover for the advancing central defenders. The player may well have to feature in the midfield as well, as the central midfielders would be expected to move full forward to assist the strikers.
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