Fans are being urged to get to Old Trafford early for Sunday’s Manchester derby after the Met Office issued a weather warning that could yet put the game in jeopardy. Up to eight inches of snow has been predicted to fall in the hours leading up to the game.

The Met Office reacted by upgrading its warning from yellow to amber amid fears that falling snow between 4am and 6pm across Greater Manchester, coupled with sub-zero temperature, could spark safety concerns and lead to traffic chaos.

United and City are not due to kick off until 4.30pm but both clubs and the police are urging supporters not to arrive late, especially as adverse weather conditions could be compounded by existing disruption to the tram network and Christmas shoppers flocking to and from Manchester city centre and the nearby Trafford Centre.

A huge security operation will also be in place at Old Trafford and fans are being encouraged to avoid bringing bags where possible and warned that bigger bags will be turned away.

The turnstiles will open two hours before kick-off with City’s 3,060 travelling fans asked to arrive at least an hour before the game is due to start to go through the process of security checks.