Sunderland visit Old Trafford at the end of a dismal February, during which they drew with Swansea and West Brom, lost to QPR and were eliminated from the FA Cup by League One side Bradford City.
Hovering in 16th place, the Black Cats are only three points clear of QPR, Burnley and Aston Villa. With a run-in that includes Arsenal, Chelsea and a derby with Newcastle, the danger of getting dragged into the relegation zone is very real.
It’s a far cry from August, when Gus Poyet’s men earned a credible 1-1 draw with United at the Stadium of Light. Juan Mata opened the scoring that day, only for former Manchester City midfielder Jack Rodwell to level after 30 minutes.
Sunderland also had the upper hand as the sides clashed four times during 2013/14. In May, Sebastian Larsson’s strike gave the North-East side a 1-0 victory, helping to keep Poyet’s men up. United had won the league fixture at the Stadium of Light 2-1, with Adnan Januzaj netting twice on a remarkable full debut but, in the Capital One Cup semi-final double-header, Sunderland edged through on penalties.
Sunderland’s overall form at United is poor, however: last season’s win was their first at Old Trafford since 1968.
They’ve struggled on the road this season, too. Far too many draws have been the side’s problem – they’ve had 13 stalemates, by far the highest total in the
