Everything you need to know ahead of the Premier League clash at Craven Cottage on Saturday

Manchester United head to Fulham on Saturday in such a contrasting position to the one in which they hosted the Whites in December.

It's hard to believe that the 4-1 win over the Premier League strugglers during Jose Mourinho's tenure came only two months ago, with goals from Ashley Young, Juan Mata, Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford sealing the win then.

That one-sided victory was followed by away losses to Valencia and Liverpool which brought about the demise of Mourinho, and since then Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has led the Red Devils to nine wins and a draw in 10 games, with spirits raised and fans thrilled along the way.

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Victory at Craven Cottage would take United into the top four for at least 24 hours, and that is something that barely seemed possible when the Norwegian arrived with his side staring at an 11-point deficit from the Champions League qualification spots.

Man United Injuries
Chris Smalling will be fit to return against his former club, giving Solskjaer extra options at the heart of defence. The former England international has been unavailable since injuring his foot against Claudio Ranieri's side in December.

Marcos Rojo is back in training after his brief return to Argentina due to his own injury issues, but he is expected to be given more time before being considered for selection.

Marcus Rashford suffered a dead leg away to Leicester last week but should be available to start, while Antonio Valencia and Matteo Darmian are both absent.

Chris Smalling Paul Pogba Manchester United Premier League 2018

Man United Suspensions
Neither side have any suspensions.

Man United Potential Starting Line-Up
Solskjaer's main dilemma will be in choosing between Eric Bailly, Phil Jones and the returning Chris Smalling at the heart of defence to partner Victor Lindelof.

Higher up, there should be a return to the starting XI for Anthony Martial after Alexis Sanchez struggled to have a serious effect on proceedings having got the nod at Leicester. Marcus Rashford ought to be selected as the focal point in attack, although Romelu Lukaku stands by just in case the England man cannot recover from a dead leg.

Otherwise United are likely to go with the same line-up which has served them well under Solskjaer to this point. The only question in the back of the Norwegian's mind will be whether this is a good opportunity to make a few changes before Paris Saint-Germain come to town on Tuesday.

Man Utd possible XI

Fulham Team News
Timothy Fosu-Mensah will not be eligible to play due to the terms applied to Premier League loan moves, but Claudio Ranieri will be able to call upon Cyrus Christie and Andre Schurrle with both having recovered from injuries.


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There could be club debuts for Lazar Markovic and Havard Nordtveit following their arrivals in the January transfer window.

Lazar Markovic Liverpool

Opta Match Facts

Fulham have won just three of their 27 Premier League games against Manchester United (D5 L19), with two of those victories coming at Craven Cottage in 2009.
Man Utd are unbeaten in 10 Premier League contests against Fulham, winning eight and drawing two.
Fulham have won two of their last three home Premier League games (L1), as many as they had in their previous 11 at Craven Cottage (W2 D5 L4). They’ve not won back-to-back home games in the competition since April 2013.
Manchester United are unbeaten in their eight Premier League games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (W7 D1), netting 20 goals and conceding just six.
Manchester United are looking to win six consecutive away games in all competitions for the first time since May 2009.
Fulham have lost 22 of their last 23 Premier League meetings with ‘big six’ sides (D1) since beating Spurs 1-0 in March 2013, losing all eight this season by an aggregate score of 5-25.
80% of Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic’s Premier League goals this season have come in home games (8/10).
Marcus Rashford has made 8% of his total Premier League appearances under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (8/100). However, in that time he’s scored 23% of his total Premier League goals (6/26).
Fulham manager Claudio Ranieri has picked up just two wins in his 13 Premier League matches against Man Utd (W2 D6 L5), losing the last three in a row. Only versus Arsenal (5) and Charlton (4) has Ranieri lost four consecutive Premier League games versus a single opponent.

TV Coverage & Kick-Off Time

Kick off is 12:30 GMT (07:30 ET) on Saturday, and will be shown live on Sky Sports Premier League in the United Kingdom. It will be shown on NBCSN in the United States, and on various channels around the world.