Chilly welcome awaits reds up north

The good news is that Sunday's match against Sunderland will be played in sunshine with a bit of cloud.

The bad news, however, is that it'll be pretty damn cold.

Despite the recent high temperatures, the high for the final day of the season will be 7C/45F and the low will be a pretty chilly 2C/36F.

Police warn - "Don't travel without tickets"

Police are advising fans not to travel without a ticket to this Sunday's end of season game at the Stadium of Light.

Northumbria Police are reminding fans travelling to the Sunderland vs. Manchester United match on Sunday that this is a ticket-only fixture and no tickets will be available on the day.

Supporters who turn up without a ticket will not gain entry to the stadium.

Sunderland area commander Temporary Chief Superintendent Kay Blyth said: "We want people who are coming in the city over the bank holiday weekend to be able to enjoy their visit and not have it ruined by a few troublemakers.

"Extra police officers will be on patrol before during and after the game, if they see any individuals or groups whose behaviour has the potential to get out of hand they won't hesitate to intervene."

Superintendent Steve Neill of Northumbria Police's Operations Department said: "Our priority at all football matches is to maintain a safe environment for all supporters and we prepare thoroughly before every match so we can police it appropriately.

"We hope Sunday's end of season match between Sunderland and Manchester United passes without incident and that it is enjoyed by supporters of both clubs.

"We would remind fans they need to behave responsibly both inside and outside the stadium or they risk being arrested and banned from future matches.

"The overwhelming majority of football fans are well-behaved and want nothing more than to attend games free from the fear of violence or disorder.

"We will continue to work closely with fans and our local clubs to make football matches safe events for all concerned."

Sunderland announce Sunday security measures

Police will form a filter cordon around the entire stadium before United's match there on Sunday, Sunderland officials have announced.

There will be extra officers forming a barrier around the away-end turnstiles. People will only be allowed access if they have match tickets.

Sunderland's safety officer Paul Weir said: "In conjunction with the police, we will have a filter cordon around the stadium especially at the away turnstiles.

"This cordon will check tickets as we will as people disembark from coaches.

"Those without ticket will be turned away or told to stay on the coaches."

Sunderland ticket, travel and pub guide

Sunderland
Stadium of Light
Premier League
Sunday May 2, kick off 16:00

Tickets

Out of a capacity of 48,453, United have 1,700 tickets, priced at £33 for adults, £22 for over 65s and £12 for under 16s.

All tickets have been sold and posted out.

The low allocation has proved very controversial and we recently encouraged fans to lobby Sunderland about potential problems with reds getting tickets in the home end.

Home-end tickets are still on general sale to people who have a booking history with Sunderland. Expect every Mackem and his dog to be selling them in town on the day of the game. For about £300.

Weather

The good news is that Sunday's match against Sunderland will be played in sunshine with a bit of cloud.

The bad news, however, is that it'll be pretty damn cold.

Despite the recent high temperatures, the high for the final day of the season will be 7C/45F and the low will be a pretty chilly 2C/36F.

TV
Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1HD will show the match live, with the show starting at 15:30 and ending at 18:00.

Travel
We recommend: Megabus there for £5 and train home (option 2) for £23.50 single - both booked in advance.

Car - £37
If you are using a sat nav or an internet routeplanner, use the destination postcode SR5 1SU.

The journey takes about two-and-half hours each way and petrol will be roughly £18.50 each way.

The basic route is: Take the M62 to J29 and join the M1 northbound. Get off at J62 and follow the A690 and signs for Sunderland city centre.

Parking – free
Because the ground is so close to the city centre, it is hard to find spots nearby for cheap and that won't have you queuing to leave for ages.

When you arrive in town, you'll see signs for Matchday Parking and they will lead you two sights at the University of Sunderland but they will probably charge you £5, it's a 10-minute walk to the ground and getting out afterwards will be a nightmare.

We recommend you use the free park-and-ride service. You park at Sunderland Enterprise Park and then buses leave every five minutes from 1.30pm and regularly afterwards after the game until everyone has been taken back.

To reach Sunderland Enterprise Park, leave the M1 at J65 and take the second exit onto the A1231.

Keep going for six miles over five roundabouts and the enterprise park is signposted.

Train - £44.50
It will take you about four hours and probably require four different trains to get there and the same on the way back, though if you go at the right time, it should be more straightforward.

If you buy your ticket on the day, it will cost you £61.90. If you book in advance via National Rail it will cost you £44.50, travelling Option 1 outbound and Option 2 inbound. No other discounts are available.

Manchester to Sunderland (pictured right)

Option 1 (Journey time 3:44)
Leave Piccadilly: 06:42
Arrive Thornaby: 09:16
Leave: 09:35
Arrive Sunderland: 10:26

Option 2 (Journey time 3:34)
Leave Piccadilly: 07:42
Arrive: Newcastle: 10:29
Leave: 10:31
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 10:39
Leave: 10:50
Arrive: Sunderland: 11:16

Option 3 (Journey time 3:29)
Leave Piccadilly: 08:32
Arrive: Newcastle: 11:24
Leave: 11:25
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 11:34
Leave: 11:35
Arrive Sunderland: 12:01

Option 4 (Journey time 3:19)
Leave Piccadilly: 09:42
Arrive: Newcastle: 12:23
Leave: 12:24
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 12:33
Leave: 12:34
Arrive Sunderland: 13:01

Option 5 (Journey time 3:34)
Leave Piccadilly: 10:42
Arrive: York: 12:20
Leave: 12:35
Arrive: Newcastle: 13:32
Leave: 13:33
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 13:42
Leave: 13:50
Arrive Sunderland: 14:16

Option 6 (Journey time 3:54)
Leave Oxford Road: 11:07
Arrive: York: 12:51:
Leave: 13:09
Arrive: Newcastle: 14:12
Leave: 14:13
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 14:22
Leave: 14:55
Arrive Sunderland: 15:01

Option 7: (Journey time 3:34)
Leave Piccadilly: 11:42
Arrive: Newcastle: 14:35
Leave: 14:36
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 14:45
Leave: 14:50
Arrive Sunderland: 15:16

The ground is a 15 minute walk from the station.

Leave the station by WH Smith, turn left and walk down High Street West. Turn left again into Fawcett Street. This leads to the Wear Bridge. Cross the bridge, and turn left into Millennium Way.

Sunderland to Manchester

Option 1 (Journey time: 3:22)
Leave Sunderland: 17:47
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 18:15
Leave: 18:16
Arrive Newcastle: 18:25
Leave: 18:29
Arrive York: 19:29
Leave: 19:45
Arrive Oxford Road: 21:09

Option 2 (Journey time: 3:08)
Leave Sunderland: 18:28
Arrive Newcastle: 18:48
Leave: 19:06
Arrive Piccadilly: 21:36

Option 3 (Journey time: 3:22)
Leave Sunderland: 18:47
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 19:15
Leave: 19:16
Arrive Newcastle: 19:25
Leave: 19:35
Arrive York: 20:34
Leave: 20:45
Arrive Oxford Road: 22:09

Option 4 (Journey time: 3:06)
Leave Sunderland: 19:28
Arrive Newcastle: 19:52
Leave: 20:07
Arrive Piccadilly: 22:34

Option 5 (Journey time: 3:49)
Leave Sunderland: 19:47
Arrive: Newcastle Central Metro: 20:15
Leave: 20:16
Arrive Newcastle: 20:25
Leave: 20:31
Arrive York: 21:26
Leave: 22:12
Arrive Piccadilly: 23:36

Option 6 (Journey time: 4:15)
Leave Sunderland: 20:28
Arrive Newcastle: 20:47
Leave: 21:06
Arrive Thornaby: 22:02
Leave: 22:12
Arrrive Piccadilly: 00:43

Coach - £21
United are running coaches from Old Trafford to the game. At the time of writing, there are six places left on it.

Places cost £24 per person. The coaches leave the Old Trafford N2 carp ark at 10:00 and are due to return by 20:30. Book by calling 0161 868 8000.

The Betty Bus is running two buses to this game. They are both sold out.

They leave Chorlton Street at 10:00.

Red Army Travel are not running a coach to this game.

National Express is running a coach from Manchester to Sunderland on the day of the game for £19.50 one way, but none on the way back.

It leaves Chorlton Street at 08:30 and arrives at 14:05.

Sunderland Coach Station is on Park Lane, which is a two-minute walk from Sunderland Train Station and a 15-minute walk to the ground.

Walk up Park Lane, turn right onto Holmeside and then a left onto Fawcett Street. Keep going up and cross the bridge. The ground is on your left.

Megabus is running a coach from Manchester to Sunderland on the day of the game for £9 return but you'd have to miss the last 15 minutes of the match to make the return coach.

Outgoing, it leaves Shudehill at 08:40 and arrives at 11:50 costing £5 one way
In going, it leaves Sunderland at 17:45 and arrives at 21:25 costing £6 one way.

Pubs
The ground is a 15-minute walk from the city centre and there are no bars next to the ground, so all our chosen pubs are in town.

Probably, the meeting place for reds will be The William Jameson (pictured left), a Wetherspoons pub a stone's throw away from the train station at 30 Fawcett Street.

It's been open for 13 years now and has decent service and a cheap food menu.

And, fingers crossed, if the weather is good, there is an outside drinking area at the front.

The WJ doesn't have live football though, but you can go to another Spoons bar a couple of streets away in Low Road to watch the Liverpool v Chelsea 13:30 kick off at The Lambton Worm.

A good place to try is The Borough at 1 Vine Place. 'Quirky' doesn't begin to describe this joint.

There are always a few odd-but-friendly characters dotted about the place and there is a fantastic jukebox if you like your rock tunes.

Drink prices are about average (£2.50 for most pints of lager), but you can warm up your belly with a Borough Bomb cocktail, which costs £3.50 and is made up absinthe, Red Bull and Aftershock – served on fire.

It also has a big screen so you can watch the Liverpool game.

Another decent boozer is Sinatras at 31 Holmeside right near the train station, though it is quite near to Yates, which is firmly a home-fans' pub on matchdays.

But by far our favourite pre-match watering hole in this part of the North East is Laings at 26 Olive Street.

The prices are low, the Guinness is good and even the Stella goes down well.

It's named after a local shipping dynasty and, while it's not massive, it is big enough for you not to be too crammed in on matchdays and get served quite quickly.

Sunderland coach information

United have got six places left on their final coach running to Sunderland on Sunday.

Kick off is 4pm. The coaches leaves the OLd Trafford N2 car park at 10:00 and is due to return by 20:30. Places cost £24. Book by calling 0161 868 8000.

The Betty Bus is full, but you can get on the reserve list by emailing your name, contact number and number of places to redsaway@hotmail.co.uk

Red Army Travel is not running a coach to this game.

Megabus is running a coach there for £3 one way, but you would have to miss the last 15 minutes of the game to make the £6 return coach.

A full travel guide will be published her later today.

Loyalty pot "to stay"

United have agreed to keep the Loyalty Pot after a Fans Forum meeting today.

The club will, however, tweak the system to allow LP members the freedom not to apply to up to two consecutive games.

At the moment, LP members must apply for every game to keep in the LP.

As a result, they sometimes end up with tickets that they cannot use and the club is concerned they then get sold on to people who may not behave as well as LP members who have more to lose.

The idea is also aimed at freeing up more tickets for other applications, who currently miss out because LP members have to apply for every game.

A club source described the 600 or so LP members as "the most loyal fans in the world" and added: "There is no link between the LP and behaviour, which is a much bigger issue."

The LP change will be trialled for a year.

The club said nothing about plans to introduce an away travel club or a charge for applying for away tickets.

United set for 'north-to-south' tour

United look set for one game in Canada, three games in the USA and one game in Mexico in the summer, Reds Away sources have said.

As reported yesterday, the reds are very likely to play Celtic in Toronto on July 16 or 17.

Reds Away understands the players will travel from Canada to Massachusetts on the east coast to play either an English team or New England Revolution at the Gillette Stadium outside of Boston.

They will then make their way south to Philadelphia to play against Major League Soccer side Philadelphia Union at Lincoln Financial Field.

The Union are already scheduled to play Valencia this summer.

After that, United will play a MLS all-star team at the Reliant Stadium in Houston, Texas.

Each July since 2003, an MLS all-star team plays against a UK side in an exhibition game. Previous opponents include Fulham, Chelsea, Celtic, West Ham and Everton.

No dates have been finalised for these games but it is likely they will take place three or four days apart. The schedule is prone to be reordered.

They are being organised by CAA Sports and Soccer United Marketing.

One date that has been confirmed is a July 29 friendly to open the Estadio Chivas in Mexico. United will play Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

What happens then depends on whether United end up in the Community Shield, which will take place on August 8.

If United win the league or Chelsea win the FA Cup, United will play in that and it is unlikely anymore away pre-season friendlies would take place.

However, traditionally there is a home friendly against a high-profile side in the first week of August.

United line up Celtic friendly

United will face Celtic in a pre-season friendly in Canada on either July 16 or 17, Reds Away sources have revealed.

Though the fixture has yet to be confirmed, it is claimed plans will be finalised in the next few days and that the match will take place at the 49,539-capacity Rogers Centre (pictured) in Toronto, Ontario.

It would be the reds' first friendly of the 2010 pre-season campaign and would be less than a week after the World Cup final.

The second game, already confirmed, will be played on July 29 in Mexico, against Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

Both stadiums have artificial surfaces.

United to scrap Loyalty Pot?

The club's 15-member fans forum is set to meet this week to discuss the possibility of the Loyalty Pot being scrapped.

As revealed on Red News on March 31, United are considering changing part two of the Club Charter.

It states that away tickets are divided between season ticket holders in the Loyalty Pot and season ticket holders in the Standard Pot.

The logic behind it is this:

- The LP discriminates against young people who, by definition can't get into because they haven't been going long enough. It's not their fault they weren't alive when LP members began 'earning their stripes'.

- Scrapping of the LP would actually benefit fans because, at the moment, clubs including Spurs, Sunderland, Bolton and Villa are, season by season, decreasing the size of United's away allocation due to persistent standing. Getting rid of standers would mean more tickets, in theory at least.

In 2006, the club suspended the LP for the match at Bolton in a bid to stop fans standing.

Though their publicity at the time stopped short of blaming LP members for standing, club representatives might hold the possibly shortsighted view that 'LP members are at away games a lot and because standing happens at away games, they must be to blame'.

Of course, that does not take into account that, LP member or otherwise, individual fans can't exactly persuade a 3,000-strong crowd to sit down on his own.

And even if he then sat down during the entire game, the club would have no proof he did so or joined in with the persistent standers.

In short, there's no proof that getting rid of the LP would reduce persistent standing.

So what other motive could United have for scrapping the LP? Money, perhaps?

There is talk that, a season after launching the European Travel Club, United would seek to do the same for domestic away games.

Each executive members, season ticket holder and One United member would have to join an Away Travel Club for the privilege of applying for away games.

Whether a joining fee would be involved is unclear.

But the aim of such a club might be to use it to introduce devices to stop persistent standing.

For example, putting names on all away-end tickets and threatening to ban supporters who do not sit in their designated seats.

That could be followed up by recording the names and addresses of the fans who sit on the back row of the away stand and working with stewards to ensure anyone who does not sit down when asked will be ejected and possibly banned from future games.

One possibly development could be United stewards and security officials usually seen at home games managing the away end, in a similar way to European away games when they sometimes operate at the turnstiles.

Whatever happens, the discussion of these issues at this week's fans forum meeting is set to unsettle members of the LP and all fans who attend away games, who will surely be fearful that the one pleasure reds have left - daring to enjoy away games - could be snatched from their grasp.

City 0-1 United

Police prepare for Manchester derby

Preparations are in place for the derby match between Manchester City and Manchester United on Saturday.

The match will take place at the City of Manchester stadium and Greater Manchester Police has plans in place to ensure the event is safe for the thousands of fans expected to attend.

Part of GMP's operation is to stop potential troublemakers spoiling the day and responding to anti-social behaviour quickly and robustly.

Anyone caught with alcohol on the streets within the alcohol exclusion zone, stretching from the city centre to the stadium, will have it confiscated. In addition, anyone arriving at the stadium under the influence of excess alcohol will be refused entry.

There will be additional police patrols in place in the city centre and around the ground to deal with the large number of fans who are attending and officers will be visiting pubs where the match is being shown live on TV.
Greater Manchester Police has been working hard to minimise traffic disruption on the day, but with such a large crowd expected, there will inevitably be delays in the area around the stadium and on Mancunian Way. Fans are advised to give themselves extra time to make their way to the ground.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, Gold Commander in charge of the policing operation for the game, said: "Our main aim is to ensure it is an enjoyable experience for all fans.

"The overwhelming majority who attend football matches are there to support their teams but when a minority of people misbehave or come to games with the sole intention of causing trouble, it spoils it for everyone.

"This is a high-profile fixture and we have been working closely with Manchester City Football Club to ensure the day passes off peacefully.

"Greater Manchester Police is very experienced at policing football matches. We will have the appropriate number of officers and resources within the ground and the surrounding areas to both deal with any incidents and offer reassurance to the public."

United to play in Mexico

As part of the deal which brought Javier Hernández Balcázar to United, the reds will play a pre-season friendly on Thursday July 29 against the club they bought him from, Club Deportivo Guadalajara.

CDG currently play at the Jalisco Stadium, which was built in 1952.

This summer, they will move to a new 45,500-capacity stadium called Estadio Chivas.

The match between United and CDG will be held to officially open the stadium.

In the coming weeks, we will bring you flight and hotel recommendations for this trip.

Sunderland game date change

United's final away game of the season against Sunderland will now take place on Sunday May 2 with a 16:00 kick off.

It will be shown live on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1HD.

Sunderland have still not said how many tickets United will get but we believe it will be between 1,300 and 1,700.

The application process has ended and ballot results will be available on Friday. We will publish a travel guide in the next few days.

Home-end tickets are now on sale to customers with a booking history with Sunderland. Details here.

Blackburn away ticket, travel and pub guide

Blackburn Rovers
Premier League
Ewood Park, Blackburn
Sunday April 11, kick off 13:30

Tickets
United have got 6,900 tickets in the entire length of both upper and lower tiers of the Darwen End (pictured right).

They cost £35 for adults, £25 for over 65s and £15 for under 16s.

All away-end tickets have been sold and posted out.

Home-end tickets are on sale now to people who have previously bought home-end tickets from Blackburn. Details here.

Weather
This section will be updated five days before the game

TV
Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports 1HD will show the match live, with the show starting at 13:00 and ending at 15:30.

Travel

Car - £10.
If you're driving to the match and are using a satnav or an internet routeplanner, use the destination postcode BB2 4JF.
It takes about 45 minutes to get there from Manchester and will cost about £10 in petrol for a return journey.

There are two ways to get there, the first being the M61, then the M65, then the A666 and the second being the M66, then the M65 and then the A666. Either way it's very easy. Leave the M65 at junction 4 for Darwen.

Parking - free
If you arrive early, street parking isn't a problem. The best streets to park are a five-minute walk away from the ground towards Darwen (so away from Blackburn Town Centre).

Anywhere in the Jack Walker Way and Oakdale area will be fine before 12:45ish. Use the postcode BB2 4JJ to get there.

Otherwise, there are quite a few paid-for car parks just off the A666 charging about £3 per car. Our preferred one is on Branch Road, as it allows you easy access onto Sandy Lane and then the M61 after the match.

Train - £6.40
You can either get off at Blackburn and walk for 20 minutes down a hill or get off at Darwen and walk for 15 minutes up a hill.

We recommend the latter because it's a slightly shorter train journey and you pass better pubs on the way up to the ground.

But, as previously mentioned, anyone arriving at Darwen is usually searched by police and officers won't tolerate anti-social behaviour, so don't arrive drunk.

At Manchester Victoria (pictured above), ask for a day return. It will cost £6.20

To the match
It's quite straightforward. Trains leave Manchester Victoria at:

08:01, 09:00, 10:00, 11:00 and 12:00 and arrive at Darwen 41 minutes later.

When you arrive, come out of the station, turn right, and walk right up Bolton Road until you reach the ground on your right.

From the match
Trains leave Darwen at 10 minutes past the hour ever hour until 23:10 and arrive at Manchester Victoria 42 minutes later.

One problem with this is that many reds will have walked up to Blackburn station (pictured right) and the train that stops at Darwen comes from Blackburn, so the train might be full by the time it reaches Darwen.

Trains leave Blackburn at 03 minutes past the hour ever hour until 23:03 and arrive at Manchester Victoria 49 minutes later.

If you're really lazy, you can go from Manchester Victoria to Blackburn and then get another train to Mill Hill (Lancs) as that station is a 10-minute walk to the ground.

The whole journey takes an hour, but by the time you've changed trains, you could have walked to the station.

Coach - £13
United are running coaches to this game. Places cost £18 per person.

The coaches leave from the Old Trafford N2 car park at 11:00 and are due to return at 16:45. To book, call the ticket office on 0161 868 8000 or go online.

The Betty Bus is running to the game and, at the time of writing, has 10 places left. Places cost £13 each. The bus leaves from Chorlton Street at 10:15.

To book, email your name, contact phone number and required number of places to redsaway@hotmail.co.uk
Red Army Travel are running a coach to this game, with places priced at £14 per person. Go here for booking details.

Public bus £10.20
You can get to Blackburn by public bus.

It does take ages, but at least it drops you off right outside the ground, avoiding a long walk from the town centre and the usual police attention fans get when they arrive via Darwen.

First, you will need to get to Bolton.

The quickest way is to get the First Bus 8 service from Manchester Shudehill to Bolton Moor Lane bus station. It takes 45 minutes. The timetable is here.

A day saver costs £4.

Then get the Transdev Lancashire United 225 service to Blackburn and get off at Ewood Park. It takes about 55 minutes. The timetable is here.

A day saver costs £6.20.

Pubs
Most reds who go to this fixture annually will equate 'Ewood Park boozers' with the Fernhurst Arms (pictured left) – the pretty big Thwaites pub at 466 Bolton Road, which is a five-minute walk from the ground.

But it's never been our favourite pre-match drinking choice. It gets packed early, it attracts idiots and, unsurprisingly, it attracts more police than the G20 Summit protests.

When it's full, the pub serves cans of Carling from a marquee outside,

One of our favourites is The Fox and Hounds off Albion Road, which is a two-minute walk from the ground right by McDonald's.

It's a home fans only pub, but if you don't wear colours, you should get in okay and the locals are friendly enough anyway. The lager is good and you get served surprisingly quick in the run up to kick off.

None of the other pubs heading up towards Blackburn town centre are worth trying as they tend to get packed out and have bouncers on the doors demanding to see home-end tickets.

But there's three heading the other way, towards Darwen that we quite like.

The Hindle Arms (pictured right), at 18 Raikes Bridge is off the beaten track, but you can enjoy a decent, quiet pint there pree match.

Alternatively, you could try The Blackamoor Inn which is on the same road a bit further down or The Golden Cup at 610 Blackburn Road (just underneath the motorway bridge) which tends to get pretty busy on matchdays, but has a good atmosphere.

Bright sunshine for Blackburn trip

It will be time to dig out that short-sleeved shirt when the reds travel to Blackburn on Sunday.

The BBC is predicting a quite staggering temperature of 14C/57F and bright sunshine.

Betty Bus sold out for Blackburn

Places for the Betty Bus's trip to Blackburn have all been snapped up. For alternative ideas of how to get to Blackburn, click on the link on the left of the page.

Last chance to apply for Sunderland tickets

Executive members and season ticket holders have one more day to apply for tickets to see United at Sunderland on May 1, kick off to be confirmed.

Tickets cost £33 for adults, £22 for over 65s and £12 for under 16s.

Sunderland have not yet announced how many United will get, but we believe it will be close to 1,400.

The authorities have continued to reduce United's allocation at Sunderland in recent years due to persistent standing in the away end.

You can apply for tickets online or by calling the ticket office on 0161 868 800 before 08:00 tomorrow.
Ballot results are out on April 16.

A full travel guide will appear here tomorrow.

Reds out of Europe

United are out of the UEFA Champions League after losing on away goals to Bayern Munich.

The Germans face Lyon in the semi finals. The other two teams competing for a place in May's final will be Barcelona and Inter Milan.

Barca and Inter into last four

Should United make it past Bayern Munich and Lyon or Bordeaux in to UEFA Champions League final, they will face either Barcelona or Inter Milan.

A whirlwind performance by Lionel Messi netted him all four of Barcelona's goals as they romped to a 4-1 win over Arsenal at Camp Nou, giving them a 6-3 aggregate win.

Earlier in the day, the 10 men of CSKA Moscow flopped out of the competition, losing 1-0 at home on the night and 2-0 on aggregate to Inter Milan.

Tomorrow night, United take on Bayern Munich at Old Trafford and, with the tie locked at 2-1 in the Germans' favour, the reds need to score one goal to go through to the semi final.

They would play the winners of Lyon and Bordeaux, who go into their return match with hosts Bordeaux 3-1 down.

Should United go through, we will bring you all the best ways of getting to the semi final away leg right on full time.

Apply now for Sunderland tickets

Executive members and season ticket holders can apply now for tickets to see United play Sunderland at the last domestic away game of the season.

Tickets for the May 1 match cost £33 for adults, £22 for over 65s and £12 for under 16s.

Sunderland have not yet announced how many United will get, but we believe it will be close to 1,400.

You can apply for tickets online or by calling the ticket office on 0161 868 800 before 08:00 on Friday.

Ballot results are out on April 16.

A full travel guide will appear here on Friday.