UK weather: Snow set to cause Manchester and Merseyside derby travel chaos

The Met Office has already upgraded its weather warning from yellow to amber with eight inches of snow expected to fall in the region

Premier League derby day is set to be marred by travel chaos as heavy snow continues to fall across the UK.

Liverpool are scheduled to host Merseyside rivals Everton at 2.15pm before Manchester United welcome league leaders City to Old Trafford, on a busy day of top-flight action which also sees Arsenal travel to Southampton.

The Met Office has already upgraded its weather warning from yellow to amber with eight inches of snow expected to fall in the region between 4am and 6pm on Sunday.

There are growing fears that the heavy snowfall could spark safety concerns as well as significant travel problems.

United and City have urged their fans to arrive early for the Manchester derby, with turnstiles set to open two hours before kick-off. There will also be a substantial security operation in place, with fans urged not to bring bags. An alcohol exclusion zone will also be in force.

The adverse weather conditions are causing widespread disruption across the UK closing roads and grounding flights at an airport.

Severe weather is forecast for a swathe of North Wales and central England on Sunday and snow has already fallen on parts of Powys, Herefordshire and Shropshire at a rate of several centimetres an hour.

Significant build-ups have been also reported in Leicestershire, Worcestershire and Bedfordshire, while snow has been falling heavily in Birmingham city centre.

Flights have been suspended at Birmingham Airport while the runway is cleared, leaving passengers facing delays, while a north-bound section of the M1 has been closed in Leicestershire due to numerous vehicles being stranded.

United manager Jose Mourinho cut a calm figure at his pre-match press conference on Friday but acknowledged external factors could decide the course of the game.

“Football is unpredictable, you can try you can try, me as a manager I can try to define a gameplan, to work in a direction but football is unpredictable,” he said.

“We don't know what can happen, there are so many things that are out of control that can totally transform the direction of the game.

“I wouldn't risk saying what game we are going to have.”