Manchester United-Man City, Liverpool-Everton to be played despite snow concerns

Both the Manchester Derby and the Merseyside Derby, which together constitute one of the biggest Sundays of the Premier League season, are set to be played despite concerns that either could be postponed due to weather.

League-leading Manchester City travels across town to second-place Manchester United on Sunday, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. local time. Everton’s visit to Liverpool is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. local time. Both, barring late changes, appear as if they will go ahead.

The United Kingdom government had issued an “amber”-level weather warning – the second of three levels of severity – for a large portion of northwest and central England on Sunday. The warning, as of Saturday evening, was in effect from 4 a.m. to 6 p.m. local time.

But both Liverpool and Manchester, as of Sunday morning, had avoided the brunt of the storm. The weather alerts for both cities had been downgraded to “yellow”:

“A spell of snow is expected over a central swathe of the UK on Sunday,” a Met Office chief forecaster said Saturday. “This snow starts to develop during the early hours of Sunday with the heaviest and most persistent snow then likely during Sunday morning. 10 cm looks likely quite widely within this warning area, with 15-20 cm in places.”

But those forecasts proved to be unfounded. Neither metropolitan area had been hit by much snow as of Sunday morning.

The issue wouldn’t have been the Old Trafford pitch or stands, which are well-equipped to handle the snow. Heating systems under the field will ensure it isn’t frozen. Anfield should be fine as well.

The worry, instead, was fan travel in the surrounding areas. Per the “amber” weather warning, the snow “could potentially disrupt your plans and possibly cause travel delays, road and rail closures, interruption to power and the potential risk to life and property.”

In Manchester, both clubs have urged fans to arrive as early as possible, with 3,060 visiting City fans advised to arrive at least an hour before kickoff. Part of that is due to pre-existing road closures in the area. Gates will open two hours prior to kickoff. United is even offering 50 percent off alcoholic and hot drinks inside Old Trafford to encourage fans to get to the stadium earlier.

In Liverpool, Merseyside Police issued a statement Saturday saying they would work closely with Liverpool to monitor the weather and any travel disruption, and would meet with the club Sunday morning. No decision to change match plans was made.

Snow also hit the UK on Saturday. Two matches in Scotland, and two lower-division Football League matches in England were postponed. On Sunday, the women’s match between Arsenal and Liverpool was postponed due to weather.

In December 2010, Man United’s trip to Chelsea was postponed due to snow. So was Arsenal’s home match against Bolton. Those decisions were made due to safety concerns around the stadiums.

Arsenal’s game at Southampton earlier on Sunday, scheduled for noon local time down on the south coast, was untroubled by the weather, though traveling fans had to contend with icy roads and delays. It appears neither derby will be troubled later in the day either.

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Henry Bushnell covers global soccer, and occasionally other ball games, for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Question? Comment? Email him at henrydbushnell@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @HenryBushnell.