Passengers urged to plan ahead this Sunday amid Great Manchester Run and Man City v Aston Villa game

The iconic Great Manchester Run is set to return to the city on Sunday 22 May with over 20,000 people taking part in the half marathon and 10k events

Whether you are taking part in the Great Manchester Run, attending Manchester City's final game, or simply out and about, we have some useful travel advice to ensure you avoid the road closures, congestion and crowds.

The iconic Great Manchester Run is set to return to the city on Sunday 22 May with over 20,000 people taking part in the half marathon and 10k events.

Later in the day, around 55,000 fans will be making their way to the Etihad Stadium for Manchester City’s final game against Aston Villa (4pm kick-off).  

If it is your first time visitng Manchester, getting around is simple with the city’s Metrolink system. There are 99 stops on the network with many close to the GM Run’s start/finish line and along the race route.

For the run, which starts assembling from 8am, the nearest stop to the start line on Portland Street is St Peter's Square and finish line on Deansgate is Deansgate-Castlefield.

All runners will be asked to follow a walking route through the China Town area to access Portland Street via Charlotte Street or Princess Street.

A large number of road closures will be in place to facilitate the run, which may affect travel to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon. Though many of the closures will begin to be lifted from 1pm, there may be increased congestion and delays on the roads around the stadium.

For fans driving to the Etihad, it is recommended that rather than travelling via the Mancunian Way, which may be very busy due to road closures, you should travel via the M60 to junction 23 or 24 and approach the ground from the east.

Fans can avoid the busy traffic and make the most of the sunshine by walking to the stadium using signposted walking routes from Manchester Piccadilly Station to the Etihad. The journey takes around 25-minutes on foot.

Travel advice for the Great Manchester Run and Manchester City match can be found on the TfGM website.

TfGM’s Head of Customer Experience, Sean Dyball, said: “For a quicker and more enjoyable journey, please consider leaving the car at home and taking the tram, bus or train. Or consider using the car for a part of your journey and then switching to public transport at one of TfGM’s Park and Ride sites - where you can park for free and complete your journey on the tram into the city centre.

“If you're travelling by tram, people are encouraged to use contactless payments for a fast and efficient way to pay. Just remember to touch-in and touch-out with the same device on the smart readers at the start and end of each journey, and Metrolink will work out the best fare for you.”