April 2017 was the last time Manchester United visited Wearside, leaving the Stadium of Light that day after a comfortable 0-3 win over ten-man, almost-relegated Sunderland.
This was our twenty first defeat in thirty one games that season, and we would go on to lose a further five during a dismal campaign. David Moyes was in our dugout whilst United were led by Jose Mourinho, and the poor performance summed up the toothless, pathetic attitude we had during the season.
We’ve had to wait a while this
season, but it feels as though welcoming United to Wearside is the last of the “We’re back in the big time” games we have to play this season.
When the fixtures came out, our final two home games against Manchester United and Chelsea looked slightly daunting — especially given the prospect of needing points to stave off the drop at the end of a relegation battle that many of us were expecting.
It’s been said a lot this season but the fact we’re heading into these two games (plus the trip to Everton) within reach of fifty points and a top-half finish goes to show how fantastic our return to the Premier League has been. The hard work of making sure we extend our stay is complete and we’ve now got three games where we can hopefully open up a bit more and attack sides without any overwhelming pressure.
United some to Wearside having secured Champions League football but they’ll know they’re in for a tricky afternoon, and it’s up to our lads to make sure they get exactly that.
Home games against United have rarely brought much joy for Sunderland, with a 2-1 win in 2016 being our only league win over the Red Devils at the Stadium of Light, the most recent before that coming during their last visit to Roker Park in March 1997.
We’ve not welcomed United to our home whilst being in this position of strength — both on and off the pitch — in a very long time. You could argue that both sides have achieved their main goal for the season, and this will hopefully lead to a match where the shackles are off.
We can achieve our best Premier League finish and highest points total in more than a quarter of a century, and with a firm platform now built to try and kick on and see what could be possible next season now in place, Saturday’s match has the makings of a game where we can make more headlines during a season where we’ve received plenty of praise for bucking the trend of newly-promoted teams going straight back down.
United have been far better since appointing Michael Carrick, but they aren’t unbeatable.
Yes, our home form has dipped in 2026, but we’ve given the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City a hell of a run for their money — let’s go and add the red half of Manchester to the list.
