United tie on Saturday evening as Albion negotiate ticket discounts

Brighton and Hove Albion’s first FA Cup Quarter Final since 1986 will take place on the evening of Saturday 17th March with a 7.45pm kick off at Old Trafford – and Paul Barber has pulled off quite the coup by negotiating ticket discounts for Albion supporters with one of the most corporate clubs in the world.

The standard Manchester United away day ticket when they aren’t obliged to follow the Premier League’s rules of a £30 maximum is £45, which is what supporters of Derby County had to pie for their third round tie back in January.

Barber though has done his best Del Boy impression and managed to convince United to price away tickets in line with the discounts offered to home supporters. Season ticket holders will therefore pay a far more reasonable £37, bronze members £40 and, should it make to a non-members sale, anybody else the full price of £45. Fans not customers!

The Albion allocation stands at 5,500, halfway between the minimum offered of 3,000 and the maximum of 8,500. The difficulty of travelling there are back on a Saturday evening – the last train back from Manchester departs before the final whistle will have blown, and that is before taking into account the possibility of extra time and penalties – as well as the cost were said to be behind the decision not to go for the full amount as the Albion would’ve had to pay United for any unsold tickets.

Tickets are on sale now to those with 250 loyalty points. On Monday, any left over go on sale to those with 200, all season ticket holders can buy from Tuesday and bronze members can join the party from Wednesday.

For those planning on overnighting it, hotels in Manchester already look expensive but you can stay just outside the city in the delights of Stockport or other such towns surrounding it for a very reasonable price.

The game will also be shown live on BT Sport for those unable to attend.