Liverpool vs Manchester United: Red Devils were nearly forced to travel to Merseyside a day early due to Uefa rule

United had to apply for special dispensation from Uefa to stay outside the 27-mie limit ahead of Thursday's Europa League last-16 encounter

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal (Getty Images)

Manchester United were nearly forced to travel and stay in Liverpool a day before their Europa League clash with their Premier League rivals due to a Uefa rule that meant they couldn’t stay at their normal Manchester hotel overnight.

Uefa regulations state that a team must arrive in the country of an opponent the day before a European match and stay within 27 miles of the stadium where they will play, a rule in place to try and minimise the impact of travel delays on matches.

But given United and Liverpool are within a short drive of each other, Louis van Gaal’s side planned to train at their Carrington base on Wednesday and stay in a Manchester city centre hotel before travelling to Liverpool on Thursday afternoon.

However, United’s training base is located 34 miles away from Anfield and by staying in Manchester, they would breach Uefa’s rules. The club therefore applied to the European governing body for dispensation to remain in Manchester, which they confirmed today has been granted.

It comes as the second request that Uefa have had to approve surrounding the last-16 fixture in as many weeks after Trafford Council requested the second leg at Old Trafford be moved back to a 20:05 kick-off as opposed to a 18:00 start due to safety fears.

The request claimed that the match would not be staffed properly if it took place in the heat of rush hour as safety personnel would be unable to reach the stadium in time, and with the second leg taking place on St Patrick’s Day, Manchester city centre is expected to be particularly busy in the build-up to the match.