Was sent an article from the Guardian (yeah I know) that listed teams who had never played each other either in league games only, or in any domestic competition including the cups
They ranked them by the combined number of league seasons in their respective histories
It turns out that City v Exeter City is joint third on the all time list
- 217 Manchester United (123) v Gillingham (94), Manchester City (123) v Exeter City (94)
Top is Everton and West Brom, both v Rochdale (222 combined league seasons)
In terms of clubs who’ve never faced each other in league games only, City v Rochdale is joint 18th on the list at 217 seasons (City 122, Rochdale 95)
Top of this list is Everton v Walsall (231 combined seasons)
In fact we’ve only played Dale once ever in a competitive game, a League Cup tie in Sept 1972 (won 4-0)
Of course this doesn’t take into account clubs who we’ve never faced and which have only come into the league more recently, with the advent of promotion from the conference/national league. So the likes of Bromley, Harrogate, Crawley, Stevenage, Fleetwood etc
We’ve faced Barnet, Burton, Barrow, Accrington in cup ties
There are also teams that we have played but not very often - Bristol City being one that springs to mind