Venue Old Trafford
Date: 03/10/2009
Kick-off: 1730 BST
Last season Manchester United 1 Sunderland 0
Referee A Wiley
Old Trafford welcomes back one of its former heroes on Saturday when Steve Bruce returns to the club he captained to three Premier League titles.
Bruce's managerial career may not yet have matched the success of his glittering playing days, but the Sunderland boss has established himself as one of the most respected English managers in the game.
Since arriving at the Stadium of Light in the summer Bruce has transformed a side who were without confidence and goals and they head to Manchester eighth in the table and level on points with Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa.
Saturday's game will provide a stern test of Bruce's rebuilding project. The omens do not look good. The Black Cats have won only one of their 16 Premier League encounters with United and Bruce has yet to outwit former mentor Sir Alex Ferguson in 12 attempts.
United's midweek Champions League victory over Wolfsburg sees the league leaders head into the game chasing a ninth successive victory, with the evergreen Ryan Giggs - who scored his 150th goal for the club on Wednesday - in inspirational form.
Giggs, of course, played alongside Bruce in Ferguson's first all-conquering side. Few would have predicted that 16 years on from their first title triumph Bruce would return to find his former team-mate and manager still going strong and bidding for a 12th Premier League crown.
Match pointers
• United have won 11 and drawn three of their 14 league meetings with Sunderland since their last defeat in 1997
• Sunderland's last win at Old Trafford was in May 1968
• There was a sending-off in this fixture four times in a row between January 2001 and August 2002 but there have been none in seven subsequent encounters
• Ryan Giggs has provided an assist for all of United's last five league goals
• As a manager Steve Bruce has lost 10 and drawn two of his 12 meetings with former mentor Sir Alex Ferguson
Manchester United
Subs from Kuszczak, Giggs, Brown, Anderson, Neville, Park, Gibson, Welbeck, Macheda, Tosic, J Evans
Doubtful Park (virus)
Injured Hargreaves (knee, 17 Oct), Owen (groin, 17 Oct) Van der Sar (finger, 17 Oct), Obertan (calf, 25 Oct), Rafael (shoulder, 31 Oct)
Suspended Fábio (one match)
Form guide WWWWWL
Disciplinary record Y12 R1
Leading scorer Rooney 6
Sunderland
Subs from Fulop, Da Silva, Mensah, Nosworthy, McCartney, Henderson, Campbell, Healy, Murphy
Doubtful Cattermole (shoulder), Mensah (calf), Murphy (heel)
Injured None
Suspended None
Form guide WLWLWL
Disciplinary record Y13 R0
Leading scorer Bent 6
Likely Lineup:
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