City’s record against Manchester’s Football League sides | OneFootball

City play Salford City in a competitive match for the first time ever on Saturday.

The League Two promotion chasers will visit the Etihad Stadium for a 17:45pm (UK) kick-off in the FA Cup third round.

Despite their Peninsula Stadium being less than four miles away from our home, we have never previously faced off against The Ammies.

City v Salford City | Match preview

Founded in 1940 as Salford Central, the club spent its entire existence in non-league until their 2019 arrival in League Two, the fourth tier of the English pyramid.

That is where they have remained ever since, but Salford are currently handily placed in their division for a shot at promotion in the second half of the campaign.

Their rise has coincided with some of Greater Manchester’s historic Football League sides slipping out of the top four tiers.

Bury and Oldham Athletic in particular faced City on multiple occasions.

In fact, City won 26 of our 50 games against Bury as we spent several years in the same division through the 20th century.

The latest of those came in 1997/98, which was the last time the sides met competitively.

We have also played Oldham Athletic 45 times, winning 22 of them.

The Latics were even in the top tier between 1992 and 1994 before a slide down the divisions that now sees them in the National League.

Our last league match against Oldham came in the famous 1998/99 season, with the 2-1 home win proving a catalyst to propel us to the third tier play-offs and eventually promotion.

We have played Rochdale just once, way back in 1972, while we have never official met fellow National League side Altrincham.

Ahead of beginning another local rivalry, below we’ll look at our record against the four other Greater Manchester sides that currently play in the top four divisions.

Manchester United

Of course, the standout clash on this list and one of the fiercest derbies in world football.

City have played a competitive match against Manchester United 195 times in total.

We have won 61 of those games, losing 80 times and drawing 54 matches.

City have scored 275 goals against United, with our cross-city rivals netting 278 times against us.

WATCH: Five of the best Manchester derbies

It’s a fixture that every generation of City fan will have some special memories of, with the first meeting way back in November 1894.

Whether it’s when Billy Meredith was shining for City (and later United), or Joe Mercer’s title-winning side or the 21st century victories at Maine Road, the Etihad and Old Trafford on the way to unimaginable successes, the Manchester derby rarely disappoints.

Bolton Wanderers

Now in League One and almost 13 years on from their last game with City, Bolton have been a worthy adversary for most of the two clubs’ existence.

First meeting in 1897/98, we have played 124 competitive matches against the Trotters – winning 53 of them and losing 45 games. In that time, we have scored 193 goals and conceded 182.

Until the mid-1960s, City and Bolton would often meet in the top-flight before a period of fluctuation for both teams before the turn of the century.

With Sam Allardyce’s arrival at Bolton and City’s resurgence, the two teams again played out some classic encounters in the first decade of the 21st century.

Perhaps the most memorable game in that run came in 2003, when we smashed Wanderers 6-2 early into our time at the Etihad Stadium, with braces for Shaun Wright-Phillips and future Bolton striker Nicolas Anelka.

2011/12 was Bolton’s most recent campaign at the top table, with City registering crucial wins home and away as we lifted our first Premier League title.

WATCH: Goal of the Day: Barry vs Bolton

Stockport County

City’s links to Stockport have long been a talking point in the game, with speculation that many people in the area are City fans.

County fans have long denied this to be the case, rightly stating their own proud record.

However, the one undeniable link between this current City side and the area of Stockport is Phil Foden.

WATCH: Our Phil: A City Studios special

Our brilliant Academy graduate, England international and reigning Premier League Player of the Season hails from the town just five miles south of Manchester city centre.

Despite all that, City and Stockport have only ever played 11 competitive matches against each other.

We have been the dominant side, winning six and losing three, with City scoring 25 and conceding 14.

Our first meeting came back in 1902, while the two sides went more than 50 years without a clash between 1910 and the League Cup fixture of 1960.

Our most recent games came in the second tier in 2001/02, when City finished top with 99 points and Stockport bottom with 26. Despite that, County proved a tricky opponent for Kevin Keegan's Blues, winning at Edgeley Park and drawing at Maine Road.

After some years of difficulty, County again appear on the up as they seek promotion from League One.

Wigan Athletic

City’s first meeting with Wigan Athletic didn’t come until an FA Cup clash in 1971, while the two sides were never in the same division until 1998/99.

We won home and away that year and actually avoided defeat against the Latics in our first seven meetings.

Overall, we have played each other 29 times, with City coming out on top in 15 of those games.

Once Paul Jewell led Wigan to the top-flight in 2005, they had the upper hand on us for a few seasons – winning five of the first seven meetings at that level.

However, we turned that around from 2009 onwards – winning eight of the remaining nine league games before Wigan’s relegation 2013.

City fans did endure a painful day in the 2013 FA Cup final against Wigan, when Roberto Martinez’s side edged a nervy game at Wembley.

There have since been three cup meetings, with Wigan now in League One alongside Bolton and Stockport.

City v Salford app coverage

Our official app allows you to follow all of the action from Manchester in one place.

Minute-by-minute text updates will begin in our Matchday Centre two hours before kick-off, while our Matchday Live show will begin at around 16:30 (UK).

Peter Reid and Paul Dickov will be the guests on the latest Matchday Live show, offering their expert insight before, during and after the action.

During the game you can also listen to live audio commentary from Alistair Mann and Nicky Weaver with a CITY+ subscription while our text commentary continues.

Make sure to have push notifications turned on as well, so you can be alerted to key moments in the action, including goals, red cards and the team news.

A full-match replay, shortened and extended highlights packages can be accessed from 12:00 (UK) on Sunday.