Eight players to miss Fulham vs Manchester United clash

Manchester United will be desperate to arrest a alarming slide when they travel to Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon.

Michael Carrick’s side head into the fixture on the back of back-to-back defeats, a 1-0 loss to Manchester City in the derby last weekend followed by a chastening 3-2 Carabao Cup exit at home to Brighton in midweek, having led that tie 2-0 inside ten minutes.

That run leaves United searching for their first win in three matches across all competitions, adding fresh scrutiny to Carrick’s early months in permanent charge.

Fulham themselves have endured a mixed start of their own under Marco Silva, opening the season with a 3-2 home defeat to Chelsea before a 1-0 loss to Sunderland and a 2-3 loss to Crystal Palace, leaving the Cottagers still searching for consistency in the final third.

Both sides will be desperate for three points to steady their starts to the season.

United have several selection headaches to work through before Sunday’s kick-off.

Manchester United and Fulham injury news

Matthijs de Ligt has not played since the end of last year due to a long-term back injury that required surgery, though the centre-back is now back in full training and very much on course to be available for selection in the coming weeks.

Amad Diallo is yet to feature this season because of an ankle injury, and it remains unclear exactly when the winger will be back in contention.

Manuel Ugarte’s absence is a far more serious concern, ruled out for a significant period after suffering a serious knee injury while representing Uruguay at this summer’s World Cup.

Tom Heaton continues his recovery from a hamstring issue sustained in pre-season, with no clear timeline yet on when the experienced goalkeeper might return.

Carlos Baleba remains unable to make his United debut because of the ankle problem he arrived with, though he is in line to return to full training after the upcoming international break.

Luke Shaw has missed United’s last three matches through a fitness issue, but there is a strong chance the left-back could be available again against Fulham.

Fulham have their own fitness concerns to contend with, with Tom Cairney sidelined by a knee injury and Ryan Sessegnon out with a groin or hip problem.

United are in need of a response after two damaging results in the space of four days.