There’s only five days to go before people take to their seats for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Manchester derby, and it’s fair to say that this is a pretty special one.
It’s true that derby matches are always known for having that extra competitive edge.
No matter the city, no matter the competition, and no matter what’s at stake, if you ask any player or fan, a derby is undoubtedly one of the biggest matches in the football events calendar, and even though the want to win games is what drives clubs all season long, there’s just something about a derby victory that’s a little bit sweeter than the others.
In a city that’s as football-obsessed as Manchester, a derby win is the chance to claim some bragging rights, the chance to feel a sense of pride in the shirt you’re wearing, and crucially, the chance to paint the city red or blue.
The history of the women’s Manchester derby may only date back a couple of years, but there’s been no shortage of memorable moments – and this one looks set to be the same.
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After COVID-19 restrictions forced stadiums across the world to fall silent from March 2020, this upcoming derby is the first to be held at Manchester City Women’s home ground of the Academy Stadium where fans will be allowed inside – but when is the derby, what time does it kick-off, how do you grab tickets, and what are the players saying ahead of the match?
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know before the big day.
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When is it, and what time is kick-off?
There’s really not long to wait now, as the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Manchester derby is happening on Sunday 13 February 2022, and it’ll be the ninth time the two heavy-hitting teams have faced each other.
The match will be kicking-off just after midday at 12:30pm GMT.
Where is it taking place?
This derby will be taking place at City’s home ground of the Academy Stadium.
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The stadium is a part of the wider, state-of-the-art, 80-acre training facility known as the Etihad Campus in East Manchester.
Situated only 400 metres from the City of Manchester – or ‘the Etihad’ – Stadium, the Academy Stadium is linked to the mother ground via a 190-metre bridge across the intersection of Ashton New Road and Alan Turing Way.
The derby will be taking place at the City’s home ground of the Academy Stadium / Credit: Charlotte Tattersall / Manchester City FC
How do you get there?
The Academy Stadium is easily-accessible, and there’s plenty of ways to get there.
Car
Supporters can park in the Blue Car Park (M11 3DU) free of charge for Women’s games.
Accessible parking is available onsite at the Academy Stadium in the North car park – which needs to be pre-booked in advance by contacting [email protected] before each game – and a resident parking scheme is in place in the streets around, which is strictly enforced and identified through on-street signage.
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There are also a number of satellite car parks around the stadium, although Manchester City does not endorse these.
Walking
According to the official Manchester City website, it will take approximately 30-minutes to walk to the Academy Stadium from the city centre, and there is a safe, well lit, and signposted walking route available from Manchester Piccadilly Station if you follow the ‘City Link’ signs.
Buses and Cycling
If you’re looking to get there by bus, then there are bus stops adjacent to the stadium, and the stop is the Asda superstore opposite the North Gate entrance.
There’s also a number of bike racks around the stadium too.
Metrolink and Metrolink Park & Ride
Metrolink runs from the city centre, including Manchester Piccadilly station to the Velopark stop and on towards Ashton, and the journey time from Piccadilly Station takes 12-minutes.
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Journeys to the stadium are really easy from the many Park & Ride sites on the Metrolink network, and parking is free for Metrolink passengers, with the journey time to the stadium is approximately 25-minutes.
There’s dedicated fanzones, the chance to ‘meet the Moonies’, and more / Credit: Tom Flathers / Manchester City FC
What are the players saying?
Ahead of the Manchester derby, The Manc got the chance to sit down with Manchester City Women forward Ellen White to chat about all things City, her time at the club so far, the best advice she’s ever been given, life outside the world of football, and most importantly, how she’s feeling about the biggest game of the season.
“I think one of the most exciting things for us is to be playing at home and having our fans there to support us back in the stadium,” White explains.
“As much as we want everyone to stay safe and we understand why we couldn’t have fans in the stadium, for us, they really give us an extra edge and they give us energy, so it’s really special to have them back and to feel closer to them.”
She continued: “A derby day’s always feisty, it’s always competitive, and I think both sets of fans and staff understand what’s at stake because of the rivalry – but for us, we want Manchester to be blue, so that’s our priority.”
“We’re not underestimating this derby, so it’ll be a really exciting one for us.”
This is the first derby at the Academy Stadium where fans will be allowed inside / Credit: Tom Flathers / Manchester City FC
Where can you get tickets, and how much do they cost?
Tickets for the Barclays FA Women’s Super League Manchester Derby on Sunday 13 February 2022 are available from £8 for adults and from £3 for Under 16’s, and you can also grab Hospitality Tickets – which include a padded seat located on the halfway line, a three-course meal, and access to the cash bar – from £72 too.
Manchester City said they are selling fast and are expecting a packed crowd for the game.
You can grab tickets from the Manchester City website here.
What can you expect on matchday?
Fans heading to the Academy Stadium on the day of the derby can expect everything from dedicated fanzones, and the chance to ‘meet the Moonies’ – City’s much-loved mascots, Moonchester and Moonbeam – as well as DJs playing lots of live music, and free hot / soft drinks included in ticket prices.
There’s so much for fans to get involved with at the Academy Stadium on matchday / Credit: Tom Flathers / Manchester City FC
Is it being shown on TV?
Yes it is.
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As the 2021-22 season is the first WSL campaign to have games shown on network free-to-air TV as part of a landmark broadcast deal, fans who aren’t able to make it to the game on Sunday will be able to watch it live on the BBC.
The match will be shown on both BBC Two and on BBC iPlayer.
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Featured Image – Manchester City FC
Manchester
Five Manchester artists we’ve been listening to this month | March 2025
Danny Jones
Oh, hello there. Did you think we’d forgotten to do our Manchester artists round-up for March? Don’t be daft, it was just a joke – a silly little April Fool’s joke.
This is, without a doubt, one of our favourite times of the month because we get to look back at our music habits in more bitesize pieces rather than feeling like we have to defend a whole year’s worth every time Spotify Wrapped rolls around.
If you don’t know the drill by now, for one, where have you been? Secondly, welcome to the listening party: it’s the period we set aside to spotlight the best up-and-coming, underrated and veteran musicians from Greater Manchester alike – so long as they’re good, we’re happy.
Let’s get into it then, yeah?
Manchester bands and artists we’ve been listening to this month
1. Lusaint
First up on our list for March is a very talented woman by the name of Lusaint – real name Lucy Hopkins, but trust us, this is a stage name set for stardom as far we’re concerned. Manc born and bred, she has the voice and vibe of an old soul with all the talent and style to go up against the biggest around today.
She started gaining followers through her stunning covers of everyone from Kings of Leon and Whitney Houston to Fleetwood Mac, Jason Mraz and many more. That being said, her pop-forward original solo material is hitting our ‘Sweet Tooth’ and then some, so we tried to keep it cool when we met her recently.
If you’re looking for where to start, her latest single ‘Neon Lights’ has an almost laid-back, neo-soul vibe; ‘Sober’ has a bit of Winehouse and Bailey Rae to it, but the best way to sum her up is soulful R’n’B with plenty of jazz and contralto moments sprinkled in there. The piano version of ‘Dark Horse’… Oof.
You’re damn right we’re putting them back amongst our Manc artists of the month list because not only have we’ve been listening to their new album non-stop but, in case you hadn’t heard, it’s just gone to number one – their second to date!
Leigh’s very own Lottery Winners need no introduction at this point: they’re becoming an increasingly big name in the indie, pop and Northern scene in general, but they also might just be up there with the hardest working bands going right now.
We could recommend tonnes of songs to kick off with but we’d like to give a big shout to ‘Superpower’, a real bit of genre whiplash that really works, ‘You Again’ with Jon McClure of Reverend and the Makers because it’s just a banger and ‘Turn Around’ because same and it has the cutest music video ever.
Now, this next one pains us slightly because Push Baby, as eclectic and interesting as they, are currently inactive as of 2022 following the release of their second full LP, Wow, That’s What I Call Push Baby!, which is brilliant subversion of modern mainstream music.
Made up of lead vocalist Jake Roche, the son of British household names, Coleen Nolan and Shane Richie, as well as multi-instrumentalist Charley Bagnall – both formerly of the boyband Rixton too – this alternative duo were pushing plenty of boundaries before they took a pause to pursue other projects.
Song wise, ‘WHAT YOU GONNA DO?’ is the closest thing to a new NSYNC track as you’ll find, ‘thenineteenseventyfive’ genuinely feels like it could fit on Notes On A Conditional Form if you just swapped out the vocals, and you simply have to start with the first song we ever heard from them: ‘thor’
You get a much different level of production on the studio version than this equally beautiful live recording. We hope they come back.
4. Tim Burgess
Our penultimate pick for this month is a Manc music legend whose music we’ve been exposed to most of our lives, but it pains us to confess were relative latecomers to his solo stuff. The Charlatans frontman had such a large body of work but we’ve finally cracked into properly for the first time.
It won’t surprise you whatsoever to learn the Salfordian icon’s own singer-songwriter records are just brilliant asd everything else he’s done in his career and we’ll feel daft to have waited this long to dive deep. There’s plenty to get through, put it that way.
Everyone’s heard ‘OH My Corazon’ (in fact, we’d wager you’ve heard even more Burgess than you realise), but we’d grown a particular soft spot for ‘Sure Enough – Eyedress Remix’, ‘White’ and ‘Empathy For The Devil’ where he voices go real Ian Brown-esque. We’ll keep digging and get back to you.
Yet more evidence that he deserves your attention and respect for what he’s done/doing for Manc music
5. Dirty Blonde
Last but certainly not least is another duo that unlike Push Baby aren’t just active but are absolutely rip-roaring through the infancy of their alt rock story already and have all ferocity of a pair of Manc music pioneers that are going to go far – Spill The Sound seem to think so too.
Modern girl rock that kicks you in the face with punchy riffs, catchy hooks, great vocals and plenty of confidence and all-round swagger that makes you think they’re made for this business. You could probably draw all manner of comparisons to contemporaries, but put simply they just sound sick.
There’s not absolute reams to get through yet as the two are ones for the future, but we’ve particular enjoyed ‘Rush’, ‘Run (When I Tell You)’ and you’d be a fool not to take a look at their new single ‘Adore Me’ which achieves exactly what the title says. Love ’em and we look forward to hearing more.
And we’re sorry to say that’s all she wrote for another month and we apologise to any of you die-hard readers for being a day late to it this time around, we promise we won’t make a habit of it.
In the meantime, you can always go back listen to our Manc music favourite from February to keep your playlists feeling refreshed – and all the other lists prior, come to think of it.
Featured Images — Audio North/Wow, Big Legend (press shot)
Manchester
Pep Guardiola delivers gutting news as Man City are hit with Erling Haaland injury blow
Danny Jones
Pep Guardiola has passed on some gutting fitness news for Manchester City fans as star striker Erling Haaland is confirmed to be injured for several weeks and could even miss the rest of the Premier League season.
The title might be out of reach this year, and the Champions League knockout against Real Madrid was definitely hard for Blues to take, but with Man City into the semi-finals of the FA Cup, there’s still a very strong chance they could end 2024/25 with a piece of silverware.
However, they’ll have to make it through another two massive rounds at Wembley and seemingly the remainder of the season without Haaland and his goals, as the Catalan coach revealed that the club expects him to be out injured for “six to seven weeks.”
Not exactly how City fans would have wanted to see the rest of an already frustrating season play out.
🗣️ "We don't have another player with his skills."
Relaying diagnosis from the medical team, Pep said the hope is that the big Norwegian number nine could be back for the very tail end of the campaign, but at the very least, he “will be ready for the [FIFA Club] World Cup.”
He went on to add that “these kinds of things happen” and that he feels “sorry” for all of the other injuries that have befell his squad up till now, adding that they can only hope for a speedy recovery and for him to return as soon as possible.
The 24-year-old hasn’t had too many big injury problems in his career thus far, although his longest spell on the sidelines did come at the end of 2023 when a stress fracture kept him out until the new year.
This time around, Haaland suffered an injury to his ankle during the City’s FA Cup win over Bournemouth on Sunday following a challenge from defensive midfielder Lewis Cook.
He was forced in the second half and was seen leaving the Vitality Stadium on crutches after the game.
Erling Haaland seen leaving Bournemouth in a protective boot and crutches. 🤕
Having led the golden boot race for a good chunk of the season – as he’s become accustomed too since he arrived in England – City‘s sub-optimal season has seen him slink into second behind high-flying Mo Salah on 27, but he still has a couple dozen goals and a trio of assists to show for it.
Speaking of Salah, the soon-to-leave ‘Egyptian King’ has been the talisman for Liverpool this season, and his contributions could see them lift the trophy in Arne Slot’s first season as early as 13 April, depending on how fellow title rivals Arsenal fare in their next two matches.
As for how City round out their domestic campaign, reclaiming the FA Cup after last year’s derby disappointment looks like the main goal.
You can watch Pep Guardiola’s press conference ahead of the game against Leicester City at 19:45pm tomorrow (Wednesday, 2 April) in full HERE.
Emily Sergeant -
8th February 2022 
