Man Utd vs. Sunderland: Head-to-head record and past meetings

Ruben Amorim, under pressure after a difficult start to the 2025-26 season, celebrated his 50th match in charge of Manchester United with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League.

An early goal from Mason Mount set the tempo of the match, with Man Utd largely in control, and their lead was soon doubled as Benjamin Sesko netted his first Old Trafford goal.

Man Utd's third straight home win moves them up to eighth in the Premier League standings, just one point behind Sunderland, who sit in sixth place.

Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.

Head-to-head record

Previous meetings: 146

Manchester United wins: 66

Draws: 38

Sunderland wins: 42

Manchester United and Sunderland have faced each other a total of 146 times across all competitions and it is the Red Devils who lead the overall head-to-head record having posted 66 wins to the Black Cats' 42, while 38 draws have been played out between the two teams.

March 1893 was the very first time these two clubs butted heads in the old Division One. Man United - known back then as Newton Heath - suffered a heavy 5-0 home defeat to Sunderland, who won six and drew one of their first seven meetings with the Red Devils, scoring 26 goals in the process. Man United - under their current name - had to wait until Mach 1907 for their maiden victory over the Black Cats (2-0).

Both Man United and Sunderland had their fair share of successes during their regular battles in Division One over the years, with the Black Cats enjoying their best run between 1938 and 1952 when they won 11 of their 15 meetings (D2 L2). However, by a narrow margin, Man United won 37 league games to Sunderland's 36 during this period up until the early 1990s.

In the Premier League era (since 1992-93), Man United and Sunderland have played against each other 33 times in the top flight and the Red Devils have dominated this fixture with 24 victories to the Black Cats' three.

Man United eased to a 5-0 home win over Sunderland in their first Premier League meeting back in 1992, with Eric Cantona and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scoring two goals each. In total, the Red Devils have scored multiple goals in 19 of their 24 top-flight wins against the Black Cats.

Sunderland's first Premier League win against Man United was claimed just three months after the aforementioned five-goal defeat, with Peter Reid steering the club to a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light. They then had to wait until May 2014 to register their second PL win over United, and their only one to date at Old Trafford, when Sebastian Larsen scored the only goal in a surprise 1-0 triumph.

The Black Cats pulled off another upset in February 2016, this time under Sam Allardyce, as they had a late David De Gea own goal to thank in a 2-1 home win. However, Man United have since won the last three meetings between the two clubs by an aggregate score of 8-1.

Outside of league football, Man United and Sunderland have played against each other in three ties (six games) in the EFL Cup, with the Red Devils winning two of those three ties, while they have also won all four FA Cup ties, prevailing in each one via a replay including their most recent in the third round at Roker Park in January 1996 (2-1).