We were surprised to hear that Middlesbrough’s 1-1 draw with Wrexham on Saturday was the first ever league match between those two sides, though they have met in both domestic cup competitions.
The most eye-catching unplayed fixture is, well, in the eye of the beholder. But
on the Facebook group, The English Football Record – if you like the Knowledge, you’ll love this – Lars Bjering Husum has listed them by the number of seasons the two teams have spent in the Football League.
Lars has done two separate lists – the first just for league games, the second for those who haven’t met in any of the cups either. As Tranmere and Barnet had never met before, in league or cup, we’ve picked the second to use here, but you can
see them both on the EFR page (Lars’ list is up to the end of the 2024-25 season; we’ve adapted it to include this year as well).
Incidentally, Tranmere v Barnet would not have been particularly high. Barnet have only spent 21 seasons in the Football League; Tranmere’s 94 gives them a combined total of 115.
- 222 seasons Everton (127) v Rochdale (95), West Brom (127) v Rochdale (95)
- 218 Everton (127) v Hartlepool United (91)
- 217 Manchester United (123) v Gillingham (94), Manchester City (123) v Exeter City (94)
- 216 Arsenal (122) v Southend United (94), Arsenal (122) v Exeter (94)
- 213 Liverpool (122) v Hartlepool (91)
- 206 Manchester United (123) v Mansfield Town (83)
- 205 Everton (127) v Torquay United (78)
- 204 Manchester United (123) v Darlington (81)
- 203 Newcastle United (122) v Darlington (81), Sunderland (125) v Torquay(7 8)
- 201 Manchester United (123) v Torquay (78)
- 200 Arsenal (122) v Torquay (78), Aston Villa (127) v Newport (73), Liverpool (122) v Torquay
The highest for league games only was Everton v Walsall, who have been in the Football League for a combined 233 seasons. But they have met once each in the League and FA Cups.
But this question isn’t just about the numbers. Mike Slattery has written in with a couple of curiosities. “The only club in the Championship at the moment who’ve never played top-flight football is Wrexham. They’ve met almost all of the bigger clubs at some point in cup football (and in the case of Manchester United, in Europe!) but they have never played Leeds United in a competitive match,” writes Mike. “They are the only two clubs in the top two divisions at present who’ve never met in any competition.
“Carlisle United’s only top-flight season was in 1974-75, at the end of which they were relegated back to the Second Division. Manchester United had been relegated from Division One the previous season, and were immediately promoted again. This season of missing each other means that Carlisle is the only club in league history to have played top-flight football but not met Manchester United in a league match.”