Beijing Manchester derby in doubt due to heavy flooding

Manchester United's derby with Manchester City on Monday in Beijing is in doubt due to torrential rain and heavy flooding with the organisers of the International Champions Cup admitting concern about the game going ahead.

United travel to the Chinese capital on Saturday after Friday’s tour opener against Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai. The meeting with City, if it goes ahead, would be the first Manchester derby to be staged on foreign soil.

If the volume of rain that has fallen does lead to the pitch becoming unplayable, organisers may find it difficult to find an alternative venue to the 91,000-seater Olympic Stadium in Beijing. The situation is being monitored as heavy thunderstorms are predicted for the day of the match.

Tournament spokesman Xiaozheng Ben said: “It’s a concern. The weather has been really bad. But we’re hopeful the game will go ahead.”

A Manchester United spokesperson said: "We are aware of the bad weather in Beijing, but also that the organisers are working very hard on getting the game to go ahead."

City are due to arrive in Beijing on Thursday evening after flying straight there following Wednesday’s 1-0 defeat by Bayern Munich in Germany.

(Guardian service)