Ruben Amorim breaks down why Fulham are 'always hard' opponent, and picks out Man Utd's biggest improvement

Manchester United take on Fulham in the Premier League this weekend after starting the 2025/26 season with a defeat.

Neither side was victorious in their respective fixtures across the opening weekend of the Premier League season. Manchester United suffered a 1-0 defeat against Arsenal at Old Trafford, while Fulham earned a point against Brighton following a late equaliser from Rodrigo Muniz.

United were given a difficult start to the season, but Fulham are a side who are beatable despite finishing higher (11th) than the Red Devils (15th) in the Premier League table last season.

Amorim knows that results must improve if he is to be a success at Old Trafford. Otherwise, questions will be asked whether he is suited to the biggest job in football.

After a positive pre-season and transfer window, United fans are optimistic the team can turn a corner under the Portuguese head coach.

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Ruben Amorim admires Fulham boss Marco Silva

United travel to Craven Cottage on Sunday looking for their first win of the season.

The Red Devils did the double over Fulham last season, with Joshua Zirkzee scoring the only goal in the first game of the season. United won again at Craven Cottage when Lisandro Martinez scored a 78th-minute winner.

Amorim held a press conference on Friday and previewed a ‘tough match’ against Fulham, while singing the praises of Marco Silva, who has been in charge of the London outfit since 2021.

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“I think it’s always hard to play against Fulham,” Amorim told reporters at his press conference.

“They have a clear identity, Marco Silva is really smart, and they are really comfortable because they have experience and understand the league.

“It will be a tough match, but every game in the schedule is tough to play.”

Amorim convinced Man Utd are better this season

It’s early days in the 2025/26 campaign, but Amorim is convinced by what he has seen over the summer that United will be stronger this season.

Amorim believes United are “better” because they have different characteristics than last season.

The United head coach also stressed that he was impressed by how United didn’t lose the ball as often in the final third against Arsenal, despite losing the game.

He added: “We are better, but also because we have different characteristics and we can change that during the game.

“We have more options and you see we play a different style with Cunha, for example, and then in the end with Sesko because he is a different player and we can use.

“We are improving in that department also. We are creating more chances, so we are ready for any kind of game. The biggest improvement we had [vs Arsenal] was we didn’t lose the ball so many times in build-up. That was really good also for our team.”

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