United did not do their confidence - as well as their meek title ambitions - any harm by holding on for a vital 3-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur last weekend at Old Trafford, which has ultimately put more pressure on Chelsea to keep hold of their single point advantage atop of the standings.United's title rival face a tough trip to Anfield to where they will take on Liverpool, which really is the only match that one could foreseeably see Chelsea drop any points in their remaining two matches.
Sir Alex Ferguson knows that his men must do their own business first before they can hope for help from another team, and going to Sunderland is not going to be easy for United - especially following the result from earlier in the season at Old Trafford.
Flashback
When the two teams met back at the start of the season, United needed a last-gasp equalizer to steal an almost undeserving point in the 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.
Their inform strike duo of Kenwyne Jones and Darren Bent were menacing about and wreaking havoc for the United central defenders, and it was latter that had the first say in the match.
Following an uneasy start to the match, Sunderland found themselves in the lead when Darren Bent's long-range shot caught Ben Foster sleeping and crept inside his near post.
The visitors began to boss the match, and it took a moment of genius from Dimitar Berbatov to pull United level.
In the 51st minute, a half-clearance by a Sunderland defender went only as far as John O'Shea and the Irishman whipped in a cross into the box, which was then perfectly met by Berbatov's overhead kick and the ball flew passed a well-placed Craig Gordon to knot the game at 1-1.
However, that lead was short lived and last only seven minutes, because of another inexcusable error by United's deputizing goalkeeper.
Foster, 26, failed to boss his six-yard box and was outmuscled by Jones who easily headed in Andy Reid's cross to restore the Black Cats' goal advantage, and it was fully deserved as well.
Former United youngster, Kieran Richardson, gave his former club the advantage when he needlessly picked up his second booking for kicking the ball away.
Patrice Evra sliced into the box and unleashed a shot, which was going wide of the far post, and it caromed off Anton Ferdinand, the young brother of Rio, and passed the stranded Sunderland goalkeeper.
After that, United had another role of the dice, but unfornately it came to nothing and they were only able to steal a single point from this match.
After the match Sunderland manager Steve Bruce said, "... When you come to Old Trafford its bad enough to with 11 men let alone 10," and from his playing days at United, he knew the onslaught was imminent.
Fit
However, the game is not remembered for Berbatov's fantastic finish or for another late show performance, but Sir Alex's rage at the level of the match referee's fitness.
Ferguson said that, "some referees are fit as butcher's dogs, and that age doesn't come into it," which meant that he did not feel Alan Wiley fit enough to handle a high-caliber match.
According to Sir Alex, Wiley was taking too long to book a player and that he told Wayne Rooney - a player he was seen calling by his nickname "Wazza" - that he was in need of a rest.
Ferguson said these words after being forced to do a post-match press conference - or he would have been fined - and later personally apologized to Wiley, and was subsequently suspended two games by the Football Association for his remarks.
However, the Referee's Union wanted the FA to make an example of Ferguson and suspend the United boss indefinitely and possibly suspend him for life, which can only be responded to by saying - ridiculous.
About
Sunderland has been in a good run of form as of late, and with that they have climbed to 10th place in the Premier League table, which is six places better than they finished at the end of last season.
Since the end of January the Black Cats have only lost three of their 14 matches - Arsenal, Liverpool and West Ham - which has seen take 20 points from those matches and bring them to the verge of breaking into the top half of the table.
Sunderland has been pretty consistent all season long, but they faced a tough spell at the turn of the year, which saw them plummet to a season-low 13th place.
The Tyne and Wear club has recently helped out United's local rival, Manchester City, by allowing Martin Fulop to provide cover for their current lack of goalkeeping options.
The Mackems have scored 47 goals so far this season, which has them ranked ninth in the league, but their goals against (53) has Sunderland in the bottom half (12th).
Who
As previously noted, Sunderland are led by their one-two punch of Jones and Bent, and the two powerful strikers have scored a combined 32 goals this season - 24 of them coming from the boots of latter.
Since they last faced one another at the beginning of October, Bruce has brought in both Benjani Mwaruwari and Allan Hutton on loan from City and Tottenham, respectively.
However, the Scottish right-back is suspended for the match against United following his involvement last weekend's altercation with Jozy Altidore, which both men were sent off for violent conduct.
News
UUnited fans should not hold their breath on Rooney being fit for the match, because the 34-goal star is still suffering from a groin injury, which saw him miss last week's match against Spurs.
The United manager has said that both Rooney and Ferdinand could make the trip to the Stadium, but they will need to prepare without both of them, and to be honest, they showed against Tottenham they can score and defend without two of their leaders.
However, a good sight for the Old Trafford supporters was the return of Owen Hargreaves to the United squad, but the midfielder was an unused substitute in the win over Spurs.
It would have been nice to see him get a couple of touches last weekend, but for obvious reasons, Sir Alex could not risk brining him on when the match was so tight.
First and foremost, Manchester United needs to put in a convincing performance against Sunderland if they are going to take all three points from this match to continue their hopes for a fourth consecutive Barclays Premier League title, but they will also need their hated rival, Liverpool, to get a positive result against Chelsea as well.
Treatment
Out: M. Owen (hamstring), Anderson (knee); Doubtful: W. Rooney (ankle), R. Ferdinand (groin); Probable: O. Hargreaves (knee), W. Brown (foot)
Projected
E. van der Sar; G. Neville, J. Evans, N. Vidic, P. Evra; A. Valencia, R. Giggs, P. Scholes, D. Fletcher, Nani; D. Berbatov
Prediction
Sunderland 1, Manchester United 2
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