Latest Manchester United and Man City news as the kick-off time for this weekend's Manchester derby in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium has been explained
This weekend will see the second Manchester derby of the season as United and City go head-to-head in the Premier League.
Both clubs go into the fixture on the back of fifth-round wins in the FA Cup in midweek. City claimed a 6-2 victory over Luton Town, while a late Casemiro goal was enough for United to get past Nottingham Forst.
Sunday will see Erik ten Hag and Pep Guardiola's teams meet at the Etihad Stadium looking to get a precious three points for their respective seasons. The reverse fixture ended in a 3-0 win for City at Old Trafford on October 29.
This fixture is already seeing plenty of similarities with the game at Old Trafford, particularly the kick-off time. The game is being broadcast live on Sky Sports as part of their Super Sunday coverage and will kick off at 3.30pm.
This time is unusually earlier than what typical Super Sunday games would kick-off, which is normally 4.30pm. It was the same for the reverse fixture in October, which also kicked off at 3.30pm on a Sunday.
United confirmed at the time of the fixture being moved for TV coverage that the early kick-off time was decided following a meeting with the relevant authorities.
"The unusual start time was agreed following consultation between the clubs, the broadcaster and local authorities," United said in a statement before October's fixture.
The same reasoning is likely being applied to this weekend's fixture when it comes to selecting the kick-off time. City and United are one of two matches taking place on Sunday, following Burnley vs Bournemouth from Turf Moor.
City go into the fixture in second place in the Premier League table and one point behind leaders Liverpool. That could change as Liverpool face Nottingham Forest away from home on Saturday, 24 hours before City play.
United are sixth in the top-flight standings after the 2-1 defeat to Fulham last weekend. Ten Hag's side are three points behind fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur having played one game more and are eight adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa.