Sunderland head to the Theatre of Dreams on Boxing Day dreaming of an historic double over Manchester United.
The Black Cats haven’t beaten the Red Devils in successive top-flight matches since 1951 when they won three in a row.
To help David Moyes’ cause, he will have Jermain Defoe to lean on who has scored more goals on Boxing Day in the Premier League than any other current player in the division, with six strikes.
But Sunderland know they head to Old Trafford knowing they will be right up against it from the very first whistle.
Manchester United have lost just one of their last 24 top-flight home games against the Black Cats, with that one coming in May 2014 (W16 D7).
Added to that, the Red Devils have won more Premier League games on Boxing Day than any other team (18).
Since the start of November, Zlatan Ibrahimovic has scored seven goals from just eight shots on target in the Premier League.
Ibrahimovic has scored 40 goals in the month of December within the ‘big five’ European Leagues since he joined Juventus in 2004-05; his best goal tally in a single month.
Manchester United are 6th place in the Premier League table at Christmas – only the second time in the Premier League era that they are outside the top five on this date after 2013-14 (8th).
