Manchester Utd v Sunderland

Sunderland arrived as one of English football's dominant forces; Newton Heath were simply trying to stay up.

Newton Heath, founded in 1878 by railway workers at the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway depot, and Sunderland, established a year later as the Sunderland and District Teachers Association Football Club, first crossed paths in the 1894–95 First Division season. Sunderland were already a dominant force, having won three league championships in four years between 1892 and 1895. Newton Heath, by contrast, were struggling near the foot of the table.

From bankruptcy to global icon; not bad for a club that nearly ceased to exist in 1902.

In 1902, Newton Heath were rescued from bankruptcy and reborn as Manchester United. That same year, Sunderland won their fourth league championship. The newly named United would take a few more years to find their feet, but the rebrand marked the beginning of the club's transformation into one of the world's most recognised sporting institutions.

A cathedral for 80,000; Leitch's grand design gave United's rivalry with Sunderland a stage worthy of the occasion.

Having won their first league title in 1908 and the FA Cup in 1909, United moved to a purpose-built ground at Old Trafford in February 1910. The stadium, designed by Archibald Leitch, could hold around 80,000 spectators. It gave the fixture between United and Sunderland a grand new stage, and Old Trafford has hosted this rivalry ever since, bar the wartime years when bomb damage forced United to share Maine Road with Manchester City.

Sunderland's sixth title in 1936 remains their last; nearly ninety years on, they are still waiting.

Sunderland's 1935–36 title triumph, their sixth, remains their last league championship to date. They followed it with an FA Cup win in 1937, beating Preston North End 3–1 at Wembley. For much of the pre-war era, Sunderland were United's equals or betters. The balance of power would shift decisively after the Second World War.

Eight players lost in Munich; a European Cup won a decade later. Grief, somehow, became glory.

The February 1958 Munich air disaster, which killed eight Manchester United players and fifteen others, sent shockwaves through the entire game. Matt Busby's rebuilt side drew enormous sympathy and support from across the country, Sunderland fans included. The tragedy, and United's subsequent recovery culminating in the 1968 European Cup triumph, cemented Old Trafford's place in football's emotional landscape.

Roker Park's farewell after 99 years made way for a 42,000-seat future; Sunderland were relegated before they'd even unpacked.

Sunderland played their final match at Roker Park in May 1997, ending 99 years at the ground, and moved to the 42,000-capacity Stadium of Light for the 1997–98 season. The club had been relegated from the Premier League in 1997 but bounced back as First Division champions in 1999 under Peter Reid, setting up a renewed run of fixtures against Ferguson's dominant United side.

Keane took the Championship title in his first season, then led Sunderland back to Old Trafford in the away dugout.

In August 2006, Roy Keane, the former Manchester United captain and one of the most combative midfielders in Premier League history, was appointed Sunderland manager. He guided the Black Cats to the Championship title in his first season, earning promotion back to the top flight. The appointment added a personal edge to an already storied fixture, with Keane returning to Old Trafford in the opposing dugout.

Sunderland left Old Trafford with a Wembley place; Moyes left with his reputation in tatters.

In January 2014, Sunderland knocked Manchester United out of the League Cup at the semi-final stage, winning on penalties at Old Trafford after the tie finished 3–3 on aggregate. It was a rare moment of triumph for the Black Cats at the Theatre of Dreams and one of the low points of David Moyes's brief tenure as United manager. Sunderland went on to reach the final, where they lost 3–1 to Manchester City at Wembley.

Seven years on, Old Trafford has not seen a Sunderland side since their decade in the top flight collapsed in 2017.

Sunderland were relegated from the Premier League in 2016–17, ending a decade-long stay in the top flight. A second successive relegation in 2018 dropped them into League One for the first time in their history. The Netflix documentary series 'Sunderland 'Til I Die' captured the turmoil and passion of those years, turning the club into an unlikely global story. Promotion back to the Championship came in 2022, but the fixture with United at Old Trafford has been absent from the calendar since 2017.