RTG’s totally and utterly (we hope) indispensable guide to this season’s away grounds.
THE OPPO – Manchester City
DATE – Sunday 5th March
KO TIME – 1.30pm
THE GROUND – City of Manchester Stadium – click here and here for maps of the area – the circle near the middle shows where the ground is.
The stadium is in the east of the city, around a mile from Piccadilly Station.
The Season Ticket priority application period ended at 5.30pm on Thurs 16 Feb; general sale commences at 10am on Tuesday 21 Feb.
Away supporters sit in the south stand – both upper and lower tiers – and up to 3,000 people can be accommodated. And there’s no old-school turnstiles here: you pass your ticket across a sensor which allows the ‘gate’ to open, and beware – apparently they can tell if you’re an adult trying to get into the ground using a child’s concessionary ticket!
GOING BY CAR?
Travelling from the north east, get yourself onto the A1/A1M southbound then M1 southbound until jcn 42, when you take the M62 westbound.
Stay on M62 until jcn 18 (just after Birch service area) then take M60 southbound to jcn 23.
Turn right onto the A662 and you arrive at the stadium after around 3 miles.
GOING BY TRAIN?
The nearest train station is Manchester Piccadilly, a 20 minute walk away from the ground.
Travelling from the north east, the 7.20am from Newcastle gets you to York at 9.50am where you change for the 10.11am Transpennine Express service which arrives in Manchester at 11.41am, leaving plenty of time for a glass or two of Dutch courage before the match. Alternatively the 9.06am Transpennine Express direct service gets you into Manchester Piccadilly at 12.09.
After the game, the 4pm Transpennine service drops you at Leeds at 4.53, then change for the Virgin service to Newcastle, or the next train is at 5pm.
For train times for that day, check the National Rail and Transpennine Express websites.
SCRAN AND BOOZE
There are plenty of pubs in the city centre but a few close to the ground as well. Or you could get a tram from Manchester Piccadilly to Manchester Victoria, and drink in the Printworks, close by. Away supporters should avoid the Queen Mary, but there’s the usual scran and booze available inside the ground, and apparently a rather good balti pie.
LEND US A FIVER I’M OUT OF CASH
There are ATMs from Lloyds TSB and Nationwide as part of the stadium complex, plenty in Manchester city centre and another in Manchester Piccadilly station.
THIS SEASON
Currently 18th of 20:
P26 W11 D4 L11 F36 A30 Pts 37 GD 6
HEAD TO HEAD
We’ve played City 111 times in the league – we’ve won 43 of those City have won 49, with 19 draws.
LAST 6 MEETINGS
23.08.05 Sunderland 1 City 2 (Le Tallec)
21.04.03 City 3 Sunderland 0
09.12.02 Sunderland 0 City 3
23.12.00 Sunderland 1 City 0 (Hutchison)
23.08.00 City 4 Sunderland 2 (Quinn, Phillips)
17.01.98 City 0 Sunderland 1 (Phillips)
Credits: Manchester City FC, Link, Multimap, Football Ground Guide, National Rail.
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