The weirdest thing about Manchester United’s midweek, 4-2 loss to arch-rival Liverpool is how much the result flew under the radar. The biggest game in English football, the British El Clasico, and what happened on the pitch takes a backseat to what occurred outside Old Trafford.
The shape, size and scale of the supporter protests against United’s owning entity, the Glazer family, on that evening transcended football. United were playing their third league fixture in five days this past week, due to the Liverpool match having to be rescheduled. Why was it called off the first time? Because of those same protests against the Glazers of course.
Manchester United vs Fulham FC FYIs
Kickoff: 6pm GMT, Tue. May 18, Old Trafford
Manchester United Starting XI Prediction: go here
Series history: Manchester United wins 52, Draws 19, Fulham wins 14
Odds: Manchester United win -260, Draw +410, Fulham win +600
Premier League Position: Manchester United 2nd, 70 pts Fulham FC 18th, 27 pts
Premier League Form Guide: Manchester United LLWDW Fulham FC LLLDL
Team news for both sides
Team captain Harry Maguire will not be risked in another match this season, other than the Europa League final against Villareal. And that’s if his ankle heals in time. Forward Anthony Martial is healing, but he won’t be fit in time for this one. He also may not feature again this season; we’ll just have to see.
Dan James is out as is Phil Jones, and if you forgot the latter is still on the team, well, you’re not alone. Switching to Fulham, their skipper is out as well, as Tom Cairney (knee) hasn’t featured since suffering that injury in December.
Alfie Mawson and Terence Kongolo are also long-term injury absentees. Ditto for Kevin McDonald. The Craven Cottagers are already relegated, so it will be interesting to see what kind of effort they decide to mount in this one.
Prediction: United 2, Fulham 0
United’s home finale could be a weird one, and why not as 2020-21 have been weird years.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.