London: It is 22 years since Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers were duelling for Premier League supremacy but a rivalry that has faded into footballing obscurity will be rekindled when they meet in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.
With Blackburn anchored in the Championship relegation zone and uncertainty hanging over the future of their manager Owen Coyle, their glory days seem a very distant memory. At the start of the Premier League era, however, they were powerful challengers as United set about creating an English footballing hegemony.
Managed by Kenny Dalglish and bankrolled by steel magnate Jack Walker's millions, Rovers were the only side to win the title other than United between 1993 and 1997. Their 1995 triumph, which was spearheaded by former England striker Alan Shearer, prevented United from being champions five years in a row, and they also finished runners-up in 1994.
Unlike United, who used their success in the early 1990s, when the Premier League was beginning to boom into the financial behemoth it is today, to become one of world football's richest and most powerful clubs, Blackburn wilted and fell away.
They finished seventh in 1996 and never again challenged for top-flight honours, although their current predicament is far bleaker.
Having dropped out of the Premier League in 2012, they are 23rd out of 24 teams in the Championship and facing the prospect of dropping into the third tier, having won just seven out 31 league games this season.
