Manchester United maintained their three-point lead over Liverpool with a 0-0 draw at the home of their fearsome rivals but their lead at the top was cut to just three points by neighbours Manchester City. United lead the way but have played one game more than City so a win at Craven Cottage is imperative. However, all three points won’t be that easy to come by. Fulham have improved in recent weeks after a tweak in tactics seeing them switch to five at the back. The West London side were narrowly beaten by neighbours Chelsea 1-0 on Saturday after Antonee Robinson was shown a red card just before half-time. Scott Parker’s side are in 18th coming into this game and four points from safety with both West Brom in 19th and Brighton, who started the weekend in 17th, both winning. Scott Parker’s team find themselves four points behind Burnley and look set for a season-long scrap at the bottom despite recent improvements. Recent draws at Tottenham and at home to Liverpool will, however, provide encouragement coming into this game.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Man United side were perhaps happy with a point at Anfield but could have easily left with all three. Now they must divert their attention to Fulham as they look to keep up their impressive record on the road. United have won seven of their nine matches on the road in the league this season and are yet to taste defeat on their travels. An average of 2.4 goals per away game should stand the Reds in good stead but Fulham haven’t conceded more than once since a 2-0 defeat to Manchester City on the 5th of November so they aren’t going to be pushovers.