Manchester United's Early Season Test at Craven Cottage
Manchester United head to Craven Cottage on Sunday with their season already twitching uncomfortably. Two defeats in four days – the Manchester derby loss followed by an EFL Cup exit to Brighton & Hove Albion – have dragged Michael Carrick’s side into an early‑campaign slump and left them 13th in the Premier League after just one win from four.
This trip to Fulham is less a routine away day and more an early test of nerve.
Carrick rings the changes
Carrick is expected to rip up the midweek blueprint. The cup collapse is unlikely to be forgiven with continuity. First‑choice names are set to return, the spine of the side reshaped, the message clear: the drift stops here.
In goal, Senne Lammens is in line to start, with a very different defence in front of him. Diogo Dalot should keep his place at right-back, but the rest of the back line is poised for a reset. Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez are set to form the central pairing, while Luke Shaw is ready to reclaim the left-back slot after missing the defeats to Brighton and Manchester City with a minor muscular issue.
Shaw’s return pushes Noussair Mazraoui out of the XI and restores balance to a defence that looked disjointed in the cup. Martinez, still the organiser and aggressor at the back, will be asked to steady a unit that has leaked both goals and confidence in recent days.
Injuries shape the options
Carrick’s selection is not without constraint. Carlos Baleba remains out with an ankle problem, joining longer-term absentees Manuel Ugarte (knee), Tom Heaton and Amad Diallo. Diallo has yet to feature this season after the ankle injury he picked up in pre-season, a frustrating halt for a player who had pushed for more minutes.
At centre-back, Matthijs de Ligt is edging closer but not quite ready. The Dutch defender continues his recovery from back surgery and has stepped up to individual training, yet he has not rejoined the main group. For now, he remains a looming presence rather than an immediate solution.
Mainoo to anchor, attack reshuffled
The midfield pivot should also look very different from the side that exited the EFL Cup. Kobbie Mainoo is expected to come back into the starting lineup, likely displacing Andrey Santos. Mainoo’s composure on the ball and control in tight spaces will be central to United’s attempts to dictate the tempo away from home.
Alongside him, Youri Tielemans is set to provide passing range and experience in the double pivot, giving Carrick a more technical base from which to build attacks.
Further forward, the attacking configuration carries both intrigue and risk. Marcus Rashford faces the possibility of dropping out, with Carrick leaning towards a trio of Bruno Fernandes, Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo behind the striker. Fernandes, as ever, is expected to operate as the creative hub, with Cunha and Mbeumo offering movement, pressing and direct running from wide and half-spaces.
Up front, Benjamin Sesko is eyeing his first Premier League start of the season. The Slovenian forward brings height, power and a penalty-box presence that United have too often lacked when chasing games. This feels like a statement selection: a manager backing a centre-forward to lead a response.
Predicted Manchester United XI
Carrick is tipped to line up in a 4-2-3-1:
Lammens; Dalot, Maguire, Martinez, Shaw; Mainoo, Tielemans; Mbeumo, Fernandes, Cunha; Sesko.
It’s a side built to regain control and restore authority, but also one that leaves little room for excuses.
Kick-off and TV details
Fulham vs Manchester United kicks off at 16:30 on Sunday, 20 September 2026, in the Premier League.
The match will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event.
United arrive in west London with questions swirling and patience thinning. By full-time at Craven Cottage, we will know a lot more about whether this is just an early wobble – or the start of a deeper problem under Carrick.
