Fulham manager Marco Silva's preparation of his team for Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off has not been influenced by Manchester United’s recent form.
Two 3-0 defeats at Old Trafford in the space of four days have generated plenty of discussion in the media, but Silva is purely focusing on his own side.
“Always when you prepare for games, you have huge respect for all the teams,” he explained. “We know what type of club we are going to play against, but we look really for ourselves first of all.
“We know their form, but they are Man United, too. If you think that any situation is going to be easy because they are in a bad moment, that’s going to be the first mistake that we are going to make.
“We don't want to get surprised, we know their quality, we know what they are capable of doing. We had good examples last season, we played three times against them.
“I really believe that in the three performances we were the better team than them on the pitch. We did very, very good things but, in the end, we lost all three.
“The details make a huge difference against sides which have quality players like [Marcus] Rashford, like Bruno [Fernandes], all the players they have out wide, players that in one moment can decide matches.
“If you ask me if I would like to perform in the same way, I would love it because we did really well in most of the games against them. But we want to write a different story this season.”
United boss Erik ten Hag spoke in his pre-match press conference about the strength of the dressing room, and Silva said that the Dutchman will not be letting any pressure get to him.
“He’s had a very good impact,” our Head Coach said. “I think last season everyone recognised the impact that he had in that football club.
“Some up and downs, like can happen for any team. They didn't start so well, but after they had a good run.
“When you are a manager, you always have pressure behind you. When you are in a bigger club the pressure is big. I think it’s a normal thing in football.
“It’s not the first time that he’s been at a big club. He was in a big club in the past as well and he knows how to handle the situation, for sure.”