Manchester Utd v Newcastle Utd

Before the name Manchester United even existed, Newton Heath were already locking horns with Newcastle.

Newton Heath, the club that would become Manchester United in 1902, faced Newcastle United in their earliest Football League encounters during the 1890s. Both clubs were establishing themselves in the top flight, with Newcastle having joined the Football League in 1893. These were raw, physical contests played on muddy pitches in front of growing industrial crowds.

Old Trafford opened in 1910, and both United and Newcastle were already among the strongest sides in the land.

United opened Old Trafford on 19 February 1910, with a match against Liverpool. The new ground gave the fixture against Newcastle a grander setting. Both clubs were among the strongest in the land during this period; United had won their first league titles in 1908 and 1911, while Newcastle claimed three championships between 1905 and 1909. When these two met, it mattered.

Newcastle claimed back-to-back FA Cups as Milburn's pace met United's fluid passing, making this fixture compelling viewing between two of English football's most romantic clubs.

The post-war era saw both clubs at their peak. Newcastle, led by the legendary Jackie Milburn, won the FA Cup in 1951 and 1952. Matt Busby's Manchester United were building the side that would become the Busby Babes. The fixture became a meeting of two of English football's most romantic clubs, both committed to attacking, entertaining football. Milburn's pace against United's fluid passing made for compelling viewing.

United lifted the FA Cup in 1977, but Newcastle's relegation the following year quietened the fixture for several years, until their return to the top flight in 1984.

Newcastle were relegated from the First Division in 1978 and spent several years outside the top flight. United, meanwhile, won the FA Cup in 1977 under Tommy Docherty and remained a major force. The fixture lost some of its lustre during Newcastle's absence, but the Tyneside club's passionate support never wavered. Their return to the top division in 1984 restored one of English football's most anticipated fixtures.

Twelve points clear in January; Ferguson had dismantled the lead entirely before spring.

The 1995-96 season remains the defining chapter in this rivalry. Kevin Keegan's Newcastle held a 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League in January, playing breathtaking attacking football. Alex Ferguson's United ground them down, match by match. The pivotal moment came on 4 March 1996 when Eric Cantona's solitary goal at St James' Park gave United a 1-0 win. Newcastle's lead evaporated entirely, and Ferguson's side claimed the title by four points. Keegan's infamous "I would love it" outburst on live television, provoked by Ferguson's mind games, became one of the most replayed moments in English football. It was a masterclass in psychological warfare from Ferguson and a painful lesson for Newcastle.

Sheringham and Scholes settled the cup final; Newcastle lost it for the second time in as many years.

During United's historic Treble-winning campaign of 1998-99, the fixture at Old Trafford in February 1999 produced a memorable encounter. United won the FA Cup that season with a 2-0 final victory over Newcastle at Wembley, with goals from Teddy Sheringham and Paul Scholes. It was the second leg of the Treble, sandwiched between the Premier League title and the Champions League final in Barcelona. For Newcastle, it was a second FA Cup final defeat in two years.

Six goals to two, away from home. Van Nistelrooy and Shearer shared a pitch; only one side left St James' Park with its dignity intact.

The early 2000s saw the fixture at its most goal-laden. Alan Shearer, Newcastle's all-time record scorer, and Ruud van Nistelrooy, United's ruthless Dutch striker, traded blows season after season. In April 2003, United hammered Newcastle 6-2 at St James' Park in one of the most extraordinary results of the Premier League era. Sir Bobby Robson's side had no answer to a rampant United attack. These were years when both clubs regularly finished in the top four.

Three goals, no reply; Demba Ba's brace sent a title warning straight to Old Trafford's doorstep.

On 26 November 2011, Newcastle came from behind to draw 1-1 at Old Trafford, but it was the return fixture that stunned the football world. In January 2012, Newcastle beat United 3-0 at St James' Park with goals from Demba Ba (two) and Hatem Ben Arfa. It was a result that briefly reignited talk of a genuine title challenge from Tyneside. Alan Pardew's side finished fifth that season, their best league position in years.

Twenty years without Champions League football, then one takeover changed everything for Newcastle.

The 2021 Saudi-led takeover of Newcastle United transformed the club's ambitions overnight. By 2022-23, Eddie Howe had guided them back into the Champions League for the first time in 20 years. The fixture against Manchester United regained the competitive edge it had during the Keegan and Ferguson years. Both clubs now regularly compete for European places, and the atmosphere at Old Trafford when Newcastle visit carries a charge that few other Premier League fixtures can match.

Over 180 competitive meetings and Newcastle are still chasing parity; the Theatre of Dreams has long memories.

With over 180 competitive meetings between the two clubs, Manchester United versus Newcastle United is one of the most played fixtures in English football. United hold the historical advantage in head-to-head results, but Newcastle's modern resurgence means the gap has narrowed. Old Trafford, with its 74,310 capacity, provides the backdrop for one of the Premier League calendar's most anticipated fixtures each season.