Football Bet of the Day: Red Devils vulnerable in opener

The Premier League season starts with Fulham visiting Manchester United under the Friday night lights. There has been plenty of change behind the scenes at the Red Devils but the new ownership have decided to keep the faith in Erik ten Hag despite a disappointing campaign last season in which they finished eighth.

They take on a Fulham side who finished comfortably mid-table last term but have lost key midfielder Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich over the summer. The Cottagers can take a positive result home from Old Trafford and they are our football bet of the day on Friday. 

Man Utd vs Fulham Odds

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Fulham got the better of Manchester United when the two sides last met in February and the Cottagers look like good value to get a positive result from the first Premier League game of this season.

The Red Devils failed to get the better of an understrength Manchester City in the Community Shield, losing on penalties after drawing 1-1 with their rivals.

However that side was missing Rodri, Phil Foden, John Stones and Kyle Walker while Kevin De Bruyne, Bernardo Silva and Nathan Ake all came on late into the second half.

Erik ten Hag’s side may have missed a key opportunity to land a psychological blow on their rivals and title favourites.Under new ownership, Manchester United have spent heavily over the summer, particularly at the back.

However new signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui only arrived on Wednesday from Bayern Munich and may not be rushed into the side, while fellow new defender Leny Yoro is already injured.

That means that the team that faces Fulham is likely to be similar to the one that finished last season and they were poor then.

Andre Onana made more saves than any other keeper in the division as his side kept just three clean sheets in their last 21 games of the campaign.

Only five teams had a worse expected goal difference than the Red Devils -12.5 last term and they still have glaring issues in midfield.

The arrival of Emile Smith-Rowe should add to Fulham’s attacking options and in Rodrigo Muniz they have a progressive striker who netted nine goals in his last 15 games last season.

Marco Silva’s side were solid defensively and could cause a stir by at least avoiding defeat against their hosts in this curtain raiser.

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