Three reasons for Manchester United to be wary of Fulham

Manchester United at back in action on Wednesday night with a trip to face Fulham at Craven Cottage

The 0-0 draw at Anfield was a decent result which kept United top but it needs to be followed up with a win against a side battling at the lower end of the table.

Leicester and Manchester City both play before United and could have knocked us off the summit before kick off in west London.

If that’s the case, nothing but a win will put United back on top but getting it won’t be easy. We’ve had a look at three reasons to be wary of Scott Parker’s side…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Scott Parker — (Ben Radford/Allsport)

Improved recent form

Since the 2-0 defeat against City in December, Fulham picked up five draws before narrowly losing to Chelsea with ten men on Saturday.

They have stabilised their season and look like a side with a clear identity, playing with confidence.

In that run, they’ve taken points off Liverpool and Tottenham, outplaying both teams for long periods of those games.

Parker has found a way of playing which means his side can hurt teams.

Defensive solidity

Fulham looked porous in the early part of the season but a switch to a three-man backline has made them much more solid now.

They’ve kept clean sheets in three of their last six home matches, and the aforementioned defeat at City was the only time they’ve lost by more than one goal since September.

Like the trip to Burnley last week, this looks set to be another tight contest where patience will be the order of the day.

FBL-ENG-LCUP-MAN UTD-MAN CITY — (PETER POWELL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Focus on ourselves

It was a good result in a big game at Anfield but United cannot afford to take their foot off the gas after that.

United had the best chances to get all three points at Anfield and not taking them has put more pressure on to win here.

We are on the longest unbeaten run in Europe’s top five leagues and the onus is on us to maintain that momentum with a professional, focused performance at Craven Cottage.

As mentioned above, Fulham have the tools to hurt elite clubs when they’re not quite on it and it’s up to United not to give them a sniff tomorrow night.

United could have dropped to third by kick off and it would be a strong show of character to immediately return to the top of the table against an awkward opponent.