A typical Manchester United comeback saved David Moyes from another humiliating defeat at home in the English Premier League last weekend. After building on that dramatic victory with a comfortable win over Norwich in the Capital One Cup, Moyes and co. head to London to take on a Fulham side desperate for points.
United find themselves eight points behind leaders Arsenal - that could change to nine points adrift of Chelsea at kickoff, if Jose Mourinho's men beat Newcastle in the early game - and a slip-up at this moment just cannot be afforded.
In a way, the game on Saturday is the perfect way to build some confidence into the United side, and also find that attacking prowess which has been sorely lacking at times.
Fulham are struggling in the bottom half of the table with just 10 points from nine games and were dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Championship side Leicester City right after a disappointing 2-0 loss to Southampton in the Premier League last weekend.
Martin Jol is the bookmaker's favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked, which just goes to show how underwhelming Fulham have been this season.
"I think if you look at the Crystal Palace game, that was positive and then, with the same team, we had a disastrous game against Southampton," Jol said. "They were the better team, they pressurised us all over and they won 2-0. They did the same of course with Swansea City before that and against Man United they could have won as well, but you still would like to have a better result.
"Against Leicester, with nine different players, I think the first half was okay and the second half was excellent, but we gave the goals away because of individual mistakes, and they punished us. But overall, in the second half, I really enjoyed it; coming back from 3-1 to 3-3 and I really thought that we would go for it and then they scored so that was disappointing.
"We would rather be in the last eight [of the League Cup], as you can imagine, but now we focus on the next two games and Saturday is the first one. It's a big game for us and if we can manage to have a good result, the world will look different."
Despite, all of Fulham's problems, however, three points against United on Saturday and they will pull to within a point of the reigning champions, emphasising just how close the table is at the moment.
Team News: Fulham could welcome back Brede Hangeland, after the experienced defender missed the last couple of games with a nerve problem. Hugo Rodallega, scorer of two goals in midweek, though, is a doubt with Matthew Briggs definitely ruled out.
Moyes expects Robin Van Persie to return against Fulham, after the Dutch striker was rested for the 4-0 Capital One Cup win over Norwich. Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand made successful comebacks from injuries in the particular game and will be in contention against Fulham as well. Danny Welbeck, however, remains sidelined, while midfielder Michael Carrick is a major doubt with a problem with his calf and Achilles.
Key men: Fulham: Dimitar Berbatov will want to put his former side to the sword and the Bulgarian striker will be the main man for the home side.
Manchester United: Wayne Rooney started United's comeback against Stoke with an astute header, and the England frontman will hope for a less pressure-filled game on Saturday.
Where to watch
The game is scheduled for an 8.30 pm IST start with live coverage on ESPN and ESPN HD. You can also catch the match live online by clicking the official link HERE.
Expected lineups: Fulham: Stekelenburg; Riether, Amorebieta, Senderos, Richardson; Sidwell, Parker; Ruiz, Berbatov, Kasami; Bent.
Manchester United: De Gea; Rafael, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Giggs, Cleverley; Valencia, Rooney, Kagawa; Van Persie.
Prediction: 3-1 to Manchester United
