United's 50 Premier League opponents: Barnsley

To mark Manchester United facing a 50th different club in the Premier League, following Luton Town's promotion, we're recalling our record against each one and showing the highlights from some classic meetings.

Having spent just one season in the Premier League during the 1997/98 campaign, the Tykes are a side predominantly know for their time in England's second and third tiers.

But following promotion to the top flight in '96/97, then-manager Danny Wilson was tasked with keeping the South Yorkshire side afloat on something of a shoestring budget.

Amassing just 35 points and conceding 82 goals in the process, Barnsley were soon relegated to the second tier, where they have resided for most of their history ever since.

UNITED 7 BARNSLEY 0 (1997/98)

Sir Alex Ferguson's side showed no mercy when welcoming the Tykes to Old Trafford for the first time since 1938, on 25 October 1997, firing seven past Wilson's side to record a famous victory in M16.

Andy Cole opened the scoring after just 17 minutes, latching onto a mistake in defence by Darren Sheridan - the first of three goals for our former forward. Cole scored again shortly after, before Ryan Giggs got in on the act after just 43 minutes to make it 3-0.

Cole would then soon complete his hat-trick moments prior to the half-time whistle, with Giggs, Paul Scholes and finally Karel Poborsky rounding off the scoring at the Theatre of Dreams.

BARNSLEY 0 UNITED 2 (1997/98)

The Tykes' last Premier League game to date, and one before which their fate had already been sealed, United were once against ruthless.

Cole again scored the opener, much like he did in the return fixture seven months prior, netting after just five minutes at Oakwell. On this occasion, the goals didn't flow quite as freely and it took United until the 67th minute to grab a second goal of the game through Teddy Sheringham. The forward latched onto a clever pass from Nicky Butt before smashing past David Watson, as Sir Alex's side ended the campaign with a more than professional display.

United missed out on the title by just one point, below Arsenal, but would not face Barnsley in the top-flight since this day.

UNITED v BARNSLEY: PL RECORD

Games played: 2
United wins: 2
Draws: 0
Barnsley wins: 0
United goals: 9
Barnsley goals: 0
Top scorer: Andrew Cole (4)