Man City vs Man Utd: How Much it Costs Fans Around the World to Watch Manchester Derby

Manchester City will host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday in the hotly anticipated first Manchester derby of the new

Manchester City will host Manchester United at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Sunday in the hotly anticipated first Manchester derby of the new season.

Managers Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho are set to go head to head again, resuming one of modern football's great personal rivalries.

Here's a look at what it might cost fans to be at the game...

Tickets

City 'Seasoncards' cover 19 Premier League home games and range between £940 for adults at the top end, a slight increase on last season's £920, and just £299 at the lower end. At £299 it is one of the cheapest available season tickets in the Premier League, but for that price fans don't keep the same seat every game and are moved around depending on where the space is.

In total, there are 38 sections of the Etihad Stadium with season tickets and the average cost is a shade over £651. The cost per game for City 'seasoncard' holders ranges from £16 to £49, with the average cost per game coming in at £34.31 to see the likes of Sergio Aguero in action.

Single game tickets for this one were also available to Cityzen Members, who pay £35 for their annual membership and get a £5 discount off all Premier League home games. The most expensive single game ticket at the Etihad Stadium this season is £58.

Premier League tickets for away fans were capped in 2016 to make football more affordable, meaning that United supporters attending the derby are getting in for just £30. The Red Devils have been given an allocation of 2,862 for this one.

Local Travel

Many Manchester-based fans going to the derby on Sunday from both sides will likely use the city's Metrolink network to reach the Etihad Stadium, accessed by the Etihad Campus stop.

An adult off-peak return from Piccadilly in the heart of the city to Etihad Campus is £3.20.

Image by Jamie Spencer

From further away on the network, prices vary. From Altrincham, Bury, Eccles, Rochdale Town Centre and Manchester Airport, which are all terminuses on the various lines, it is £5.40.

City offer a matchday season ticket service on the Manchester Metrolink for £74 (adult), which allows fans to travel to and from the Etihad from anywhere on the network for every home game in every competition this season. It also gives free parking at Metrolink Park & Ride sites.

Depending on the number of games, it could knock close to 50% off the price off the Metrolink on matchday over the course of the season compared to buying a ticket each time.

For those who don't mind a walk, there is a route from Piccadilly station in the centre of Manchester to the Etihad that City advertise as taking around 25 minutes. The stadium is certainly well visible from the station and only 1.4 miles away.

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City and United fans in parts of Greater Manchester not serviced by the Metrolink can still easily get into Piccadilly by train, with onward travel to the Etihad. A return train ticket from Bredbury, for example, costs £5.60. From Wigan on the other side of Manchester it would be £6.30.

National Travel

A by product of success, City and United fans aren't limited to Manchester and supporters travel from all over the country to watch both teams in action.

United in particular have a reputation for having many fans in London and this being an away fixture with limited allocation won't stop the flow from the capital. There will likely be fans from London on both sides of the divide, whether they are Mancunians living away or newer fans.

A off-peak return train ticket from arriving at Manchester Piccadilly from London Euston in time for the game costs £86.90. The last direct train from Manchester back to London that night is at 8.55pm, giving supporters plenty of time to navigate back to the city centre from the Eithad.

Carpooling or booking train tickets long in advance would obviously provide cheaper options.

International Travel

Football fans travelling from Dublin to Premier League football games is a common sight and a flight to Manchester the night before the game can be booked for as little as £15 with Ryanair. The same flight on Sunday is £89. Equally, getting back might have to wait until Monday as Ryanair are charging £23 compared to a £270 AerLingus flight straight after the game.

There are obviously strong links between City and Abu Dhabi and fans flying in and out of Manchester from the Emirati city non-stop on Etihad Airways can expect to pay £795 if they arrive in Manchester two days before the game and leave the day after.

That price could drop to £499 with a layover in Muscat with Oman Air.

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Any tourist fans from Hong Kong, where Premier League football is also insanely popular and has hosted touring clubs in the past, can get direct return flights to and from Manchester on Cathay Pacific for £503. That would be arriving on the Friday before the game and heading home the following Friday as part of a week-long stay in the United Kingdom.

Extras

Matchday programmes at the Etihad Stadium cost £3 to purchase, actually putting them towards the cheaper end of the Premier League given that most are £3.50 or higher. For example, buying a programme at the reverse fixture at Old Trafford in March will cost £3.50.

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The BBC's Price of Football study in 2017 found that buying a pie inside the Etihad will set fans back £4. That is one of the Premier League's most expensive, meaning the money a fan can save on a programme may simply go on feeding themselves instead. A cup of tea costs £2.

All travel prices estimated based on relevant searches at the time of writing

Sources: ManUtd.com, ManCity.com, BBC Price of Football 2017, TrainLine, Google Flights