Full Time
Fulham and Manchester United shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage, and United will take it after how close this one came to going wrong. Lisandro Martinez turned a Calvin Bassey shot into his own net in the 63rd minute to put Fulham ahead, and it stayed that way until Matheus Cunha's deflected strike found the corner in the 89th minute to snatch a point. Bruno Fernandes had already rattled the post earlier on, so this was a mess United mostly made for themselves before just about escaping it. That's Matchweek 5 done: Fulham stay rock bottom and still without a win all season, while United's stuttering start continues too, sitting 13th and a long way from where a club their size expects to be.
Pre-match Talking Points
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1Fulham are 19th with a single point from four games, and Michael Carrick's Manchester United aren't much better off in 12th with four. Alvaro Arbeloa took over from the popular Marco Silva in the summer, and after three straight defeats -- plus reports of dressing-room unrest the club insists are overblown -- some in west London are already wondering if he'll see Christmas out. United arrive off the back of two defeats of their own, including a League Cup exit at home to Brighton, so neither side has much confidence to spare here.
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2This one doesn't carry much history or needle, but the record is lopsided enough to be funny: United have won 27 of the last 38 Premier League meetings between the sides, and Fulham haven't beaten them at Craven Cottage since December 2009. That's not a bad run, that's basically a generation -- some Fulham season-ticket holders have had kids who've grown up and gone to university without ever seeing it happen.
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3Keep an eye on Matheus Cunha. United paid big for him last summer and he repaid it with ten Premier League goals in his debut season, but this campaign has been quiet -- just one assist and no goals yet in over 300 minutes. If he's due a reset, a Fulham side missing their first-choice right-back is as good a place as any to find it.
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4United's team-sheet is almost as big a story as the game itself. Amad Diallo, Manuel Ugarte and Matthijs de Ligt are already out injured, and big-money summer signing Benjamin Sesko didn't even travel with the squad, leaving Carrick short of attacking options. Add doubts over Luke Shaw and Carlos Baleba and this is about as threadbare as United have looked all season -- hardly the backdrop a manager under pressure needs.
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5Between them, these two have won a single Premier League game all season -- and somebody has to snap out of it at Craven Cottage. Fulham are still chasing their first win of the campaign; if it doesn't arrive here, against a United side that's lost back-to-back and just crashed out of the League Cup to Brighton, the alarm bells in west London only get louder. Bottom-half bragging rights have rarely felt so contested.
Team Talking Points
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1Fulham drew 1-1 with Newcastle at Craven Cottage on Saturday, and it took a late scramble. Jacob Murphy put Newcastle ahead with a stunner in the 80th minute, before substitute Rodrigo Muniz flicked in an equaliser three minutes later. It was his first Premier League goal in seven months, so the celebration had some feeling behind it.
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2Head coach Álvaro Arbeloa, the former Real Madrid and Liverpool defender, has Fulham on 10 points from 10 games. That's not thrilling, but they took eight of those points from the last four matches. They go into the break feeling a lot better than they did a month ago.
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3Odd but true: that was Fulham's first ever Premier League draw at home to Newcastle. It's the kind of trivia that makes you sound like you've got the stats app open under the table.
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4The reward for that improvement is a trip to Manchester City on 21 November when the league comes back. Expectations will be realistic. Mind you, City just lost 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, so a Fulham fan might be quietly hopeful.
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5Fulham are one of those clubs that never seem to be in the headlines, which suits them fine. The ground sits right on the Thames and has a 'neutral' section, a genuinely unusual thing in English football. Ask a Fulham fan about it and they'll be delighted someone noticed.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Eight points from the last four is decent going. Arbeloa's got Fulham ticking again, and Muniz scoring off the bench never hurts.
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Avoid saying
"Fulham? They're just a nice day out by the river" — it's meant kindly, but saying it out loud tells every Fulham fan you think their club's a tourist attraction rather than a football team.
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1The big news is that Michael Carrick looks to be on his way out. On Thursday morning Sky Sports reported that United have a verbal agreement in principle with Mauricio Pochettino to take over. Carrick took training on Wednesday and is officially still in charge, but he's expected to go before the weekend.
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2There's a catch. Pochettino is currently managing the USA national team and has a reported £7m release clause, so United still have to agree a deal with US Soccer. He's expected to take charge of the USA's two games against Haiti this break first. It's a slightly awkward way to hand in your notice.
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3If it happens, Pochettino would be United's eighth permanent manager since Sir Alex Ferguson retired 13 years ago. United have also talked to him on three earlier occasions. Mention that and a fan will either laugh or stare into the middle distance.
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4The reason is the league table. United go into the international break in the bottom three. Their last game was a mad 4-4 draw with Aston Villa at Old Trafford, where they came back from 2-0 and 4-2 down with two stoppage-time goals. Brilliant entertainment, still in the relegation zone.
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5Whoever is in the dugout, the return fixture is a nasty one: Liverpool away on Sunday 22 November. After that come Sporting in the Champions League and Brentford at home. A new manager will barely have time to learn the names of the training ground staff.
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Top thing to say down the pub
Eighth permanent manager since Fergie, if Pochettino signs. At this point Old Trafford needs a revolving door, not a dugout.
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Avoid saying
"Carrick just needs more time." Fans who were saying that a month ago have mostly moved on to arguing about Pochettino's release clause. You'll sound like you're reading last month's paper.