How to Prepare for an Away Matchday in Manchester? Following Your Club Away at Old Trafford and Etihad Stadium

Manchester United allow a bag no bigger than 20cm x 15cm x 5cm through the turnstiles, Manchester City allow A4 but ban every backpack regardless of size, and the railway station next to the Old Trafford away end has not seen a train since December 2017. Those three facts catch out more visiting supporters than anything else in the city, because the two Manchester grounds sit four miles apart on different tram lines with different rules, and many travel guides concentrate on only one ground.

This is the two-stadium version for fans following their club to either ground this season, built around what supporters actually ask on forums before they travel: where you will be sat, how you get a ticket, which tram to take and how you get back to Piccadilly when the post-match tram queues are at their longest.

Manchester is unusual among English away trips because it offers two of the division's biggest grounds, in opposite corners of the city, that treat visiting supporters quite differently. United put you in a tight corner with rail seating and a famously cramped concourse. City accommodate away fans across three levels of the South Stand, with wider concourses and limited options for away supporters near the ground. The travel planning differs too: Old Trafford has three tram lines and a walkable bar scene at Salford Quays, while the Etihad has one tram stop, post-match shuttle buses and a 25 to 30 minute walk back to town. If you simply want to see a game at one of the grounds as a genuine neutral rather than to support the visitors, Manchester United tickets and Manchester City tickets for league fixtures are listed by stand, subject to each club's home-area admission rules.

Who is going to Manchester this season

Between now and May, both grounds host the division's biggest clubs plus a run of Champions League nights, so supporters of most Premier League sides will make a Manchester trip in 2026/27. The dates below are as listed on 1BoxOffice fixture listings as of 2 November 2026; Premier League games move for television once broadcasters confirm their picks, so treat the kick-off times as provisional until your club publishes its travel advice.

Fixture	Date and kick-off (UK)	Ground	Why it matters to away fans
Manchester United vs Aston Villa	Sun 8 Nov 2026, 16:30	Old Trafford	Late Sunday kick-off; plan the return around a hold-back of up to 20 minutes
Manchester City vs Napoli	Tue 24 Nov 2026, 20:00	Etihad	UEFA ticketing and segregation rules apply; check the visiting club's matchday guidance
Manchester City vs Chelsea	Sat 12 Dec 2026, 17:30	Etihad	Moved for television; the evening kick-off makes checking return rail services essential
Manchester United vs Bayern Munich	Wed 20 Jan 2027, 20:00	Old Trafford	UEFA rules give visitors at least 5% of capacity; final blocks depend on the allocation
Manchester United vs Liverpool	Sat 23 Jan 2027, 15:00	Old Trafford	High-profile fixture; expect a police escort and post-match segregation
Manchester City vs Arsenal	Sat 30 Jan 2027, 15:00	Etihad	Sold through Arsenal's own away eligibility criteria
Manchester United vs Chelsea	Sat 6 Feb 2027, 15:00	Old Trafford	Chelsea's gated fixture list includes both Manchester clubs, so season ticket holders go first
Manchester City vs Manchester United	Sat 20 Mar 2027, 15:00	Etihad	Derby at the Etihad; United fans enter through L1 to L3 like any other visiting support

Cup draws may add to that list. United went out of the EFL Cup to Brighton in September, so the FA Cup is the remaining domestic cup route to Old Trafford this season, and a home draw against a lower-league side can mean a much larger allocation at either ground, subject to competition rules and safety arrangements. For the routine league trips, Premier League tickets at either ground are listed fixture by fixture, and Champions League tickets cover the European nights where your own club's allocation has sold out on away credits.

Buy Premier League Tickets

Two grounds four miles apart, two very different away ends

One of the most common questions from travelling supporters before a Manchester trip is some version of "where will we be, and will we be able to see?". The honest answer depends entirely on which ground you have drawn, so here is the comparison in one place before the detail. Every row comes from the clubs' own visiting supporter guidance or from the away guides that Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea published for their 2025/26 and 2026/27 trips.

	Old Trafford (Manchester United)	Etihad Stadium (Manchester City)
Away section	South East corner, between the East Stand and the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand, lower and upper tiers	Eastern end of the South Stand across Levels 0, 1 and 3 (renumbered from 2025/26)
Standard league allocation	About 3,000 (City received 3,103 on 13 September 2026)	About 3,000 (blocks such as 013, 014, 113, 114, 313 and 314; the mix varies by allocation)
Cup and European allocation	Up to around 9,000 for domestic cup ties, extending along the East Stand; European ties at least 5% of capacity under UEFA rules	Can increase for domestic cup ties; European ties at least 5% of capacity under UEFA rules
Turnstiles	S22 and E30 in the South East corner	L1, L2 and L3 in the South Stand
Turnstiles open	2 hours before kick-off	2 hours before kick-off; City asks you to be inside 60 minutes before
Standing	About 2,500 rail seats in the visiting section, installed by 2023	Rail seating in blocks 013, 014, 313 and 314; check the designation on your ticket
Bag limit	20cm x 15cm x 5cm	A4 handheld only (12" x 8" x 3"); no backpacks of any size
Bag drop	Car park E2 outside the away section, £5 (as of November 2026)	Grey car park inside the away compound, £10 per item (as of November 2026)
Nearest tram stop	Wharfside (Trafford Park line) or Old Trafford (Altrincham line), both zone 2	Etihad Campus (East Manchester line), zone 2
Walk from Piccadilly	About 45 minutes; take the tram	25 to 30 minutes at a brisk pace, longer with a crowd
Pubs for away fans nearby	None next to the ground; Salford Quays and MediaCityUK are the usual choice	None; City's own guide says local pubs are for home supporters
Accessible entrance	AE8 (Tottenham's February 2026 guide); United's own guidance also lists AE1 and AE2	Entrance M for step-free access, per City's 2026/27 access statement
Duplicate tickets	Ticketing and Membership Services in car park W2, behind the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, with photo ID	South Stand Ticket Office from 2 hours before kick-off, arranged through your club, with photo ID
Hold-back after the whistle	Common on police advice, especially for Liverpool, City and Leeds	Announced over the PA when Greater Manchester Police request it

Two things to flag before you rely on the block numbers. The Etihad's North Stand expansion has pushed capacity past 60,000, and City renumbered the whole stadium from 2025/26: old Level 1 became Level 0, old Level 2 became Level 1, the box level became Level 2 and Level 3 kept its name, so a pre-2025 guide quoting block 213 means today's 113. The block on your own ticket overrides anything printed here. At Old Trafford the regeneration work around the Stretford End has not touched the visiting corner, but the club does occasionally move the section boundary for cup ties with large allocations, and again the ticket wins.

Buy FA Cup Tickets

The Old Trafford visitors' section in the South East corner

United house away fans in the corner where the East Stand (the Stretford End is at the opposite end) meets the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand along the touchline. You come in from Sir Matt Busby Way, past the Munich clock, through turnstiles S22 and E30, and the section runs across the lower and upper tiers of that corner. For a standard league game the allocation is typically around 3,000; City's 3,103 for the September derby is one confirmed example. Cup ties can push the allocation into the East Stand proper and have reached around 9,000, which is why the FA Cup draw matters so much to the atmosphere in that corner.

The view is good. The corner is close to the pitch at the lower level and the acoustics under the East Stand roof are one reason visiting supporters sound so loud on television. The trade-off is space. The away concourse under the corner is notoriously cramped at half-time, and the legroom in the older rows is minimal, though almost nobody sits down. Around 2,500 rail seats had been installed in the visiting section by 2023, so standing is permitted in the designated licensed areas; follow the instructions for the block printed on your ticket. Away supporters should not try to get round segregation by buying home-area tickets. Genuine neutrals can use the Old Trafford seating plan and our Old Trafford seat-by-seat guide to compare views, subject to the venue's admission conditions.

Three practical points that trip people up. Old Trafford is fully cashless, so bring a card for the kiosks. Check the club's current prohibited-items list before bringing a water bottle, as container rules can change by event. And the club's multi-faith room sits in the W2 car park behind the Stretford End, on the home side of the segregation line; no registration is needed before kick-off or after full time, but using it during the match requires booking at least 48 hours ahead, so visiting supporters should arrange access in advance rather than assume they can walk round. Old Trafford tickets for home areas are listed by stand if you are travelling as a neutral rather than on your club's allocation.

Buy Old Trafford Tickets

The Etihad away end in the South Stand

City put visiting fans at the eastern end of the South Stand, which is the opposite end of the ground from the Etihad Campus tram stop. Entry is through turnstiles L1, L2 and L3, the away ticket office is in the same stand, and the section runs across Levels 0, 1 and 3. The L codes are entrances, not levels, which confuses plenty of first-timers. Under the renumbered system the visiting blocks include 013 and 014 on Level 0, 113 and 114 on Level 1 and 313 and 314 on Level 3, with rail seating in 013, 014, 313 and 314 according to West Ham's away guide; tickets are issued in the block order City requests, and the exact mix depends on the allocation.

The experience is the opposite of Old Trafford. The concourses are wider, which can make half-time queues easier to manage. The cost is height: level 3 is a long way up and a long way from the goal, and supporters who remember the old two-tier away end before the 2015 South Stand rebuild still prefer it. Which tier you get depends on your own club's ticket release rules. City enforce segregation: visiting supporters identified in home sections can be ejected, and the club instructs visiting fans to buy through their own club. If you are genuinely neutral, use the Etihad Stadium seating plan and our Etihad seat-by-seat ranking to make sense of the new level and block numbers before buying.

Policies worth knowing from City's own away guide: no re-admission once you are through the turnstile, under-14s must be with an adult over 18, e-cigarettes count as smoking across the whole campus and mean ejection, and flags larger than 2m x 1m are refused. Pyrotechnics bring arrest, prosecution, a possible Football Banning Order (a court order barring you from grounds) and an automatic club ban. Food is cashless and the kiosks close at the end of half-time; the club lists several halal and vegan options alongside a multi-faith prayer room inside the stadium that a steward will show you to. Etihad Stadium tickets for home areas are listed by stand for neutrals.

Buy Etihad Stadium Tickets

Getting an away ticket: allocations, points ladders and the £30 cap

Away tickets for both grounds are sold by your own club, not by United or City. Most Premier League clubs run a version of a points or credits ladder (a priority system where the fans who have attended the most away games buy first), and for Manchester trips the opening threshold can be high. City's own ladder for the Old Trafford derby opened at 33,000 points and sold out at 25,000; Chelsea treat both Manchester clubs as gated fixtures where season ticket holders go before members. The detail of each scheme is in our guides to Manchester United away tickets and Manchester City away tickets, which cover the ladders the other way round; Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and the rest publish their own criteria, but the mechanics are similar.

For tickets sold directly by the visiting club, adult Premier League away prices are capped at £30 until the end of 2027/28, following the extension announced on 19 March 2026; the cap does not govern resale prices or hospitality, and the league noted that away attendance has risen from 82% to 91% since the cap began in 2016. Concessions come in lower: City charged £22.50 for over-65s and £15 for 17 to 24s at Anfield this October. Champions League away tickets are capped separately by UEFA at €50 (about £43 as of November 2026), while domestic cup prices are set by the home club and vary. Our Premier League ticket price index tracks what each club charges across the season, and the EFL Cup tickets and FA Cup tickets listings show cup prices for any remaining Manchester ties once draws are made.

If you miss the ladder, the options narrow. Neither Manchester club sells away tickets to opposition fans, and both warn that away supporters found in home areas are removed. A home-section ticket is not a substitute for an away allocation if you plan to support the visiting team. Our guides to Manchester United tickets without a membership and Manchester City tickets without a membership are written for genuine neutrals. For them, 1BoxOffice works as an independent resale marketplace: check the ticket's conditions, register with 1BoxOffice, choose a stand and follow the order on Track Order. Under the 150% guarantee, an order that is not delivered and has no alternative offered is refunded in full under the published terms, and a goodwill credit voucher equal to 50% of the original order value, excluding fees and taxes and capped at £125, may also be issued. Either way, secure a valid ticket before booking non-refundable travel.

Buy Manchester United Tickets

Trams, trains and the station that no longer stops

Almost every away fan arrives at Manchester Piccadilly or Manchester Victoria, and from there the Metrolink tram (Greater Manchester's light rail network, run under the Bee Network brand) does the work. Both grounds are in fare zone 2 with the city centre in zone 1, so the fare is the same whichever you are visiting: £2.80 for a zone 1+2 single, £3.50 for an off-peak all-day travelcard or £4.30 for the anytime version. The £3.50 off-peak ticket is valid all day on Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays and from 09:30 on weekdays, so it covers almost every matchday (TfGM fares, November 2026). Altrincham trams from Piccadilly and Victoria run direct to the Old Trafford stop, and TfGM lists direct Etihad services from both stations; for Wharfside and Exchange Quay, Deansgate-Castlefield is the reliable place to change if no direct tram is running. Tap a contactless card on the yellow reader at the stop before you board and again when you get off; you cannot buy a ticket on the tram, and a missed tap-out charges the maximum fare.

Route	From Piccadilly	From Victoria	Stop and walk
Old Trafford via Trafford Park line	Trams towards Trafford Centre; if none is running direct, change at Deansgate-Castlefield	Trams towards Trafford Centre; if none is running direct, change at Deansgate-Castlefield	Wharfside, a short walk to the away corner; allow extra time for segregation and crowd management
Old Trafford via Altrincham line	Direct trams towards Altrincham	Direct trams towards Altrincham	Old Trafford stop, which is next to the cricket ground; 10 minutes to the football stadium along Warwick Road
Old Trafford via Eccles line	Trams towards Eccles or MediaCityUK; if none is running direct, change at Deansgate-Castlefield	Change at Deansgate-Castlefield for an Eccles or MediaCityUK tram	Exchange Quay, about 15 minutes on foot; the pub route from Salford Quays
Etihad via East Manchester line	Direct trams towards Ashton-under-Lyne or Etihad Campus, 10 to 15 minutes	Direct trams towards Ashton-under-Lyne on the Bury to Ashton service	Etihad Campus, outside the North Stand; walk round to the South Stand for L1 to L3
Etihad by train	One stop to Ashburys on the Glossop or Rose Hill lines, then 15 to 20 minutes on foot	Not practical; use the tram	Ashburys; police may escort on big fixtures
From Manchester Airport	Tram towards Victoria to Trafford Bar, then 10 to 15 minutes on foot to Old Trafford; for the Etihad, the airport train to Piccadilly then the tram is usually faster		Allow about an hour door to door

Two myths need correcting. The first is Manchester United Football Ground station, the little halt on the Liverpool line that sits right beside the away turnstiles. It still appears on some travel sites as an option, but National Rail lists all services as suspended indefinitely at the club's request on safety grounds, and the last trains called there on 10 December 2017. Do not plan around it. The second is the Old Trafford tram stop, which is not next to the football stadium at all; it serves Lancashire County Cricket Club, and the walk to the away corner is a good 10 minutes through a home crowd. Wharfside, which opened on the Trafford Park line in 2020, is the more convenient approach to the visiting corner.

For the Etihad, the problem is not finding the stop but using it afterwards, which is covered in the getting home section below. Driving is a poor option at both grounds. United's car parks and City's must be pre-booked, City state plainly that no parking is sold on the day, and free-to-park Metrolink park-and-ride sites at Ashton Moss, Ashton West and Ladywell are the alternative, with tram fares still payable. If you must drive, park at a tram stop on the far side of the city and ride in.

Bag rules at both grounds, side by side

Bag policy is where a supporter doing both grounds in one season gets caught, because the two clubs measure differently and neither will bend. United's limit is 20cm x 15cm x 5cm, about the size of a small clutch bag, with exceptions only for bags containing essential medical provisions or baby-changing items; anything larger goes to the bag drop in car park E2 outside the visiting section for £5, which opens four hours before kick-off and closes two and a half hours after the final whistle (club guidance, as of November 2026). City allow a handheld bag up to A4, which is 12 inches by 8 by 3, but refuse every backpack, rucksack and holdall regardless of size; larger bags go to the Grey car park inside the away compound at £10 per item, the figure on both City's away fan guide and its matchday page as of November 2026.

• Old Trafford: 20cm x 15cm x 5cm, clear carrier bags within that size accepted, no vapes, flags up to 2m x 1m with a fire certificate; check the current list before bringing a drinks container.
• Etihad: A4 handheld only, no backpacks of any size, no glass, no vapes anywhere on the campus, flags up to 2m x 1m, no re-admission.
• Both: cashless kiosks and physical or visual searches at every turnstile; pyrotechnics mean arrest plus a club ban and photo ID may be asked for on concession tickets.
• Both: a laptop bag, a weekend holdall or a work rucksack will fail the size or bag-type rules, so leave it at the hotel or use the paid drop and allow extra time for the drop queue on big fixtures.

The simplest answer for a day trip is to carry nothing. Phones, cards, a scarf and a coat with pockets pass every search at both grounds without a conversation. Supporters coming straight from the airport are the exception, and for them the hotel check-in before the match is the more reliable plan.

Where away fans drink before kick-off

Manchester away days follow a city-centre pattern. The pubs around Old Trafford, including Sam Platts, The Bishop Blaize, The Trafford and the Tollgate, are home pubs on matchday and several operate home-only door policies, which can change by fixture. Around the Etihad, City's own guide states that local pubs are used by home supporters and asks visitors to respect the surrounding community, and the Mary D's of this world are not places to try your luck in away colours. Public drinking is also restricted in designated areas, including parts of Manchester city centre, so do not assume you can drink on the street near either stadium.

For Old Trafford, the away-friendly answer is Salford Quays and MediaCityUK, a 15 to 20 minute walk from the away corner along the Bridgewater Canal or two stops on the Eccles line. The bars there (Lime, The Dockyard and the Matchstick Man are the ones supporters name most) are used to mixed crowds and serve food. The alternative is the city centre: Piccadilly, the Northern Quarter and Deansgate all work, with the tram ride to Wharfside taking about 20 minutes and the platforms at St Peter's Square filling up from 90 minutes before kick-off. For the Etihad, there is no equivalent of the Quays, so the city centre is the safest general recommendation, and Piccadilly station's own pubs and the bars along Piccadilly Approach are the natural meeting point before the 10 minute tram ride.

Inside both grounds the bars serve alcohol on the concourse but not in view of the pitch, which is standard in England. Old Trafford's away concourse is too small to make a half-time pint worth the queue; the Etihad's wider concourses make it realistic if you move at the whistle. United's kiosks sell halal-certified chicken hot dogs and a chicken balti pie that the Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club lists as halal-suitable rather than certified, and City lists halal and vegan options; check the kiosk menu on the day. Prices vary by kiosk and stadium, so budget £10 to £15 a head for a pie and a pint as of November 2026 and treat anything less as a bonus.

Getting home: hold-backs, tram queues and the last train

This is the part most guides skip and the part that generates the most complaints. At both grounds the visiting section can be held inside after the final whistle while the home crowd clears, on Greater Manchester Police instruction. At Old Trafford it is most common for Liverpool, City and Leeds, but whether it happens and for how long is confirmed in the visiting club's matchday advice; at the Etihad it is announced over the PA. Budget 15 to 20 minutes for it and do not book a train that needs you at Piccadilly within an hour of full time.

The Etihad has a specific problem. After major events Bee Network normally closes the Holt Town, Velopark and Clayton Hall stops in the city-centre direction, making Etihad Campus the main boarding point, and City has warned that turnstile replacement work at that stop in 2026/27 changes the queueing system. Police segregation may also alter the walk from the away exit, and supporters on Bluemoon describe long queues after busy matches. The alternatives are the 25 to 30 minute walk to Piccadilly along Ashton New Road and Great Ancoats Street, the 15 to 20 minute walk to Ashburys for a train one stop into Piccadilly, or the matchday shuttle buses to the city centre, which load from the Ashton New Road lay-by and Alan Turing Way and leave once the road reopens, about 25 minutes after full time.

Old Trafford is easier because there are three lines. Wharfside takes the bulk of the crowd, the Old Trafford stop by the cricket ground takes the Altrincham line overflow, and Exchange Quay at the Quays is the one that locals use when the first two are heaving. After matches, city-bound Trafford Park trams may skip the Imperial War Museum stop, so board at Wharfside or Exchange Quay instead.

Kick-off	Illustrative exit from the away section	Illustrative Piccadilly arrival (tram)	What that means
Saturday 12:30	14:40	15:30	Usually workable for same-day returns; check your operator's timetable
Saturday 15:00	17:10	18:00	Workable for most routes; check your route's last direct departure
Sunday 16:30	18:40	19:30	Tight for London and the south coast; check the last direct service before you buy
Weekday 20:00	22:10	23:00	Late rail connections may be limited; consider a coach or an overnight stay

These are planning illustrations, not verified timetables or promised arrival times: they assume a 15 minute hold-back plus substantial queuing and tram time, and queues, policing and service changes can make the trip shorter or longer. Last trains change by operator and by engineering work; TfGM published a full suspension of the Altrincham, Trafford Park and Eccles lines from 19 October to 1 November 2026 for track renewal, and that sort of closure recurs, so the Bee Network travel alerts page is the final check the night before.

Where to stay and what the day costs

For a one-night trip the city centre around St Peter's Square or Piccadilly is the practical base for both grounds, because it offers convenient tram connections to both stadiums and the pubs are there. Salford Quays and MediaCityUK work for Old Trafford alone, with the bonus of being on the away-friendly side of the water. Be careful with hotel names: the Hilton Garden Inn at Emirates Old Trafford is at the cricket ground, a 10 minute walk from the football stadium and in the middle of the home crowd. Airport hotels suit early flights but add 50 minutes each way. Match weekends at Old Trafford push city-centre prices up sharply, as TripAdvisor regulars warn every season, so book the room the day the fixture date is confirmed, not the day your club announces its allocation.

Item	Cost (November 2026)	Source
Premier League away ticket (face value via your club)	£30 adult cap, concessions lower; resale differs	Premier League, cap extended 19 March 2026
Champions League away ticket	€50 cap, about £43	UEFA regulations from 2025/26
Metrolink day travelcard, zones 1+2	£3.50 off-peak (all day at weekends) or £4.30 anytime	TfGM fares
Bag drop	£5 at Old Trafford, £10 at the Etihad	Club visiting supporter guides
Food and drink inside	£10 to £15 a head, planning figure	Typical Premier League concourse pricing
Electronic Travel Authorisation (eligible nationalities)	£20; two years or until passport expiry	Home Office fee schedule from 8 April 2026

Rail is the variable. An advance return from London can vary by more than £100 depending on when you buy, so check rail fares early but avoid non-refundable bookings until your match ticket is secured. If you would rather spend the money on the seat than the pub, both clubs sell matchday hospitality to anyone, with the caveat that it sits in home areas: our guides to Manchester United hospitality and Manchester City hospitality explain what each package includes and what colours are tolerated.

Buy Manchester City Tickets

Flying in from the Gulf for a Manchester match

Manchester Airport has direct services from major Gulf cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Jeddah, which makes either ground a realistic weekend for supporters in the Gulf, and the entry rules are simpler than most fans expect. Passport holders from the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman do not need a visa; they need an Electronic Travel Authorisation, a digital permission applied for on the UK ETA app before travel, which costs £20 from 8 April 2026, lasts two years or until the passport expires if sooner, and allows visits of up to six months, subject to UK entry rules. Residents of those countries on other passports should check the rules for their own nationality, because some qualify for an ETA and others need a Standard Visitor visa. Our UK entry guide for Gulf football fans covers the application step by step.

From the airport, the tram towards Victoria serves Trafford Bar for Old Trafford, followed by a 10 to 15 minute walk depending on your entrance. For the Etihad, the faster public-transport option is usually the airport train to Manchester Piccadilly and then the tram to Etihad Campus. A taxi to the city centre is quicker on a quiet day, but matchday traffic on the M56 and Princess Road can double both the trip time and the fare. Neither ground will let a cabin bag through the turnstile, so check in at the hotel first, which is one more reason to stay in the centre.

On matchday itself, the practical questions Gulf supporters ask most are food and prayer. Old Trafford's kiosks carry halal-certified chicken hot dogs and a chicken balti pie that United declare halal-suitable but which carries no independent certification. The multi-faith room in car park W2 holds about 20 and has no wudu (ablution) facilities. The Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club currently lists it as open from two hours before kick-off until 60 minutes after full time without registration, while use during the match must be booked at least 48 hours ahead and re-entry to the stadium cannot be guaranteed, so reconfirm the arrangements before travelling. The Etihad lists halal options in its catering and has a multi-faith prayer room inside the stadium; ask a steward about access on the day. Alcohol-free options are everywhere, and nobody at either ground thinks twice about a supporter who is not drinking.

Buy Champions League Tickets

Trip timeline: what to do and when

The order of operations matters more in Manchester than in most cities because the away ladder, the rail fare and the hotel price all move against you in the same fortnight. This is the sequence that experienced travellers follow, whether the trip is from Birmingham or from Bahrain.

• Six to eight weeks out: away sales timings vary by club, so watch your club's announcements and check your credits; only consider a home-area ticket if you are genuinely neutral.
• When tickets are released: secure the match ticket first, then the train or flight, then the hotel; overseas travellers should arrange UK travel permission well before departure.
• One week out: read your own club's travel advice, which names the escort route and any pubs the police have agreed, and check the Bee Network alerts page for tram engineering work.
• Matchday: leave bags at the hotel, allow extra time for travel and searches and be inside the Etihad at least an hour before kick-off, as City recommends.
• Full time: follow any hold-back or escort instructions, pick the walk, tram or shuttle bus that fits your train and tap out at your destination stop so the fare caps apply.

The same checklist, with the stadium details swapped, is what we have written for supporters heading to Madrid and Munich this season, and in Manchester it is the bag restrictions and tram choices that can disrupt an otherwise straightforward trip.

Buy EFL Cup Tickets

Frequently asked questions about away days in Manchester

Whether you are travelling on club credits for a Saturday at Old Trafford or hunting a neutral seat for a European night at the Etihad, 1BoxOffice lists resale tickets for both Manchester grounds backed by its 150% guarantee on undelivered orders; check the permitted supporter area on each listing, because the guarantee does not override the clubs' own entry rules.

Sources: Manchester United Football Club, Manchester City Football Club, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Everton Football Club, Chelsea Football Club, Premier League, UEFA, Football Supporters' Association, Transport for Greater Manchester, Bee Network, National Rail, Football Ground Guide, Manchester United Muslim Supporters Club, Home Office.