Manchester United face the unusual situation of back-to-back league fixtures against the same opponent this week, renewing their rivalry with Leeds United.
After the originally scheduled meeting between the two clubs at Old Trafford back in September was postponed following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, this week has represented the first midweek slot where both clubs were free to fulfil the fixture. It was confirmed just over a week ago after both United and Leeds came through their FA Cup fourth round ties without the need for a replay.
It does, of course, mean that they will face each other twice within the space of just five days, going head-to-head at Old Trafford on Wednesday night and then at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon. While United will head into the two fixtures with confidence flowing through their veins, Leeds will be looking to pull away from danger and start life without former head coach Jesse Marsch with a bang.
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Marsch, following Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, was sacked by the West Yorkshire outfit on Monday, less than a year after succeeding Marcelo Bielsa. They will head into Wednesday evening's encounter without a win in their last seven Premier League matches.
With that said, United will head into the upcoming encounters with the Whites targeting six points in the space of just five days, a tally, if achieved, that would see them go ahead of Manchester City in the table, certainly for a few hours on Sunday afternoon at least.
The back-to-back meetings with Leeds will see United face the exact same opponent in successive Premier League fixtures for the first time since 2016, but that was in a different scenario. After bringing the curtain down on the 2015/16 campaign with a final day 3-1 home win over Bournemouth, United started the 2016/17 campaign against the same opponent, beating the Cherries 3-1 at the Vitality Stadium in Jose Mourinho's first league game in charge.
But when was the last time United played the same opponent in successive league games in the same season? For that scenario to have happened, you have to go all the way back to the 1967/68 season, where United played Wolves twice in the league in the space of just four days.
Hosting them on Boxing Day 1967, United beat them 4-0, courtesy of goals from George Best (2), Sir Bobby Charlton and Brian Kidd. The Reds then made the trip to the Black Country on December 30 and won 3-2, with goals from John Aston Jr, Charlton and Kidd sealing another win.
Going further back down the years, there was a time when it was a Christmas tradition in England for clubs to play on both Christmas Day and Boxing Day. In December 1957, United faced Luton Town at home on Christmas Day, beating them 3-0, courtesy of goals from Duncan Edwards, Thomas Taylor and Charlton, and then faced them again 24 hours later, as Albert Scanlon and Taylor got themselves on the scoresheet in a 2-2 draw at Kenilworth Road.
That marked the final year that Christmas Day football was staged in England, though Boxing Day fixtures have remained a strong tradition ever since.
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