A bitter rivalry exists between the two English teams, with the hatred reaching a peak in the 1970s when fans regularly clashed.

So where did it all begin?

According to many, the hatred has its roots in the 1455-1487 Wars of the Roses, which was a series of bloody civil wars fought between the House of York and the House of Lancaster for the throne of England.

That rivalry then transferred to football, and is entrenched in Leeds and Red Devils fans.

Leeds' relegation from the English Premier League in 2004 means meetings between the two rivals have been scarce since then.

But the two sides will lock horns in Perth on Wednesday night in front of a crowd in excess of 50,000.

Leeds captain Liam Cooper said his club's rivalry with Manchester United still burns strong.

"Being a boy growing up in England, you always knew of the Man United and Leeds United - you can call it hatred back home," Cooper said.

"The games were always good games.

"For sure (it still exists). You feel it as a footballer, and you feel it as a fan. It will be exciting. I think it adds a bit more spice to the game."

When asked if there could be a bit of feistiness during Wednesday's clash, Cooper replied: "There could be. We'll see."

Leeds only narrowly missed out on promotion to the EPL last season after losing in a two-leg playoff to Derby County.

Cooper's team won the first leg 1-0 away, and were up 1-0 at home in the second leg before losing that game 4-2.

Leeds are desperate to atone for that failure this season.

"Losing out so late and so last minute it was hard to swallow," Cooper said. "For the first two or three weeks it was on your mind. You couldn't forget about it.

"I think it's given the lads that extra firepower, the extra burn in the belly.

"We want to play this game (against Manchester United) in the Premier League. We don't want it to be a pre-season friendly. That's the desire of the group."

Manchester United beat Perth Glory 2-0 on Saturday night, with the EPL powerhouse changing their entire side at half-time.