Carrick’s Reds Seek Redemption Against New-Look Fulham
Carrick’s Reds head south with questions to answer and bruises still fresh.
Back-to-back defeats at Old Trafford have stalled the early-season mood. First came the storm against Manchester City, decided by an Erling Haaland strike that many inside the ground felt should never have stood. Then, in midweek, Brighton & Hove Albion walked away from the same pitch with a Carabao Cup victory, deepening the sense of frustration.
Now comes a different kind of test. A trip to the capital, a meeting with a Fulham side under new management, and a chance to close this difficult spell with something more uplifting than inquests and regret.
Memories of late drama
The reverse fixture at Old Trafford in early February still lingers. That day produced the kind of chaos that defines seasons.
Casemiro and Matheus Cunha put the hosts into what looked like a commanding position, only for the game to unravel. Raul Jimenez struck to drag Fulham back into it, Kevin followed up, and suddenly a two-goal cushion had vanished into thin air.
Then came the twist. Deep into stoppage time, Benjamin Šeško found the winner, ripping the noise out of Old Trafford and turning a collapse into a wild, cathartic three points. The Reds would take a repeat of the result, if not the route.
Craven Cottage has its own recent story. The last visit there, in the opening away league match of the 2025/26 campaign, produced a scrappy, hard-fought draw. Leny Yoro thought he had claimed the first goal of the afternoon, only for it to be recorded as a Rodrigo Muniz own goal. Emile Smith Rowe then levelled for Marco Silva’s side, and that was that. Two points dropped or one gained, depending on your persuasion, but hardly a statement.
New face in the Fulham dugout
This time, it is Alvaro Arbeloa patrolling the home technical area. The former Liverpool full-back, fresh from a spell as head coach at Real Madrid, has stepped into the role at Fulham and walked straight into the harshness of Premier League life.
Three league defeats opened his tenure. Then came Anfield. On his return to his old home ground, Arbeloa set his team up to dig in, and they came away with a 0-0 draw that carried more weight than the single point suggests. It felt like a foothold.
Fulham’s mood has been helped by progress in the Carabao Cup. Wins over fellow London clubs AFC Wimbledon and West Ham United have pushed the Cottagers into the fourth round and added a sense that something is beginning to build in west London.
Team news: defensive reinforcements and a missing match-winner
Michael Carrick’s biggest boost could come at the back. Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are both in contention to return at the heart of the defence, a potential restoration of experience and aggression in an area that has looked stretched. Luke Shaw, absent from the last three matches, is also hoping to be fit enough to feature, offering balance and reliability on the left.
There were flickers of encouragement in the Brighton defeat. Shea Lacey marked his first senior start with a goal, a sharp reminder that the club’s next generation is ready to push. Mason Mount also found the net on his first start of the season, another important step for a player whose rhythm has been repeatedly interrupted.
The longer-term absentees remain a subplot. Matthijs de Ligt, Carlos Baleba, Manuel Ugarte and Amad have all missed the opening phase of the campaign, but Carrick has at least been able to sound a more optimistic note on de Ligt and Baleba. Both have travelled with the squad to London, raising the prospect of a debut for one of them if the moment is right.
One notable name is missing. Benjamin Šeško, the stoppage-time hero from that breathless February meeting at Old Trafford, has not made the trip. Any repeat of his late drama will have to come from elsewhere.
So the stage is set: a wounded giant searching for a response, a reshaped Fulham side beginning to find its feet, and a tight, old riverside ground ready to judge which direction these seasons are really heading.
