Railway strikes cause headaches for travelling football fans across the country this weekend

Fans heading to Premier League matches this Saturday face travel chaos caused by a nationwide train strike.

Manchester United fans will have to leave early from their Saturday evening trip to Brentford to make the last train home, while Newcastle and Leeds supporters face a scramble to avoid overnight public transport that could take more than 16 hours.

Of the seven Premier League matches on Saturday, only Leicester’s visit to Arsenal will be unaffected by the walkout of 6,500 train drivers in a row over pay.

Arsenal’s match against Leicester is the only Saturday fixture set to be unaffected by strikes

The strike will impact nine train companies, with some running no services at all.

It means disruption for Everton fans heading to Aston Villa and Fulham supporters travelling to Wolves. With no direct trains, both sets of fans face longer journeys that include several changes.

The situation is even more severe for fans of United, Leeds, Newcastle and Bournemouth.

United take on Brentford at 5.30pm on Saturday. The last train back, however, leaves St Pancras – around 50 minutes from the Gtech Community Stadium – at 8.02pm. That is around 40 minutes after the final whistle. The situation is not helped by the closure of Kew Bridge Station, which sits beside the ground, or expected disruption on the London Underground.

Man United fans will have to leave game against Brentford early to catch the last trains home

Trains back to Manchester would ordinarily run until around 9pm.

It is understood United have spoken to supporters heading to London but are not putting together any special arrangements for them, with some seats still available on club coaches.

Newcastle are not putting on any additional transport, either. That is despite the punishing journey their supporters face between Tyneside and the AMEX Stadium outside Brighton. 

There is a train which leaves Falmer, beside the ground, around half an hour after the final whistle on Saturday. That takes nearly five and a half hours and includes four changes, arriving into Newcastle at 10.45pm.

Newcastle fans could face a five-and-a-half hour journey from Brighton including four changes

Miss that, though, and they face a 16-hour overnight journey via London, Leeds and Pontefract. 

Sportsmail understands that Newcastle have previously looked into offering extra transport but official coaches are not always popular and, with supporters travelling from across the country, finding a solution to suit everyone proved difficult. 

On a normal weekend, trains from Falmer back towards Newcastle run until nearly two hours after full-time.

Brighton vs Newcastle kicks off at 3pm, the same time that Southampton welcome Leeds to St Mary’s. 

Fans of Jesse Marsch’s side face up to five hours – or four changes – on the way down and then a near-six-hour trip back from Southampton Central, leaving around 40 minutes after the final whistle. 

After that, the next train requires four changes over 14 and a half hours, meaning fans would not arrive back in Leeds until 9.12am on Sunday. Trains back would typically run until around 7pm.

Leeds supporters face an 11-and-a-half hour round trip for their away match at Southampton

Bournemouth supporters face a brutal journey on their first away day since promotion back to the Premier League.

To reach Manchester before the 3pm kick-off against City, punters leaving Bournemouth will have to set off before 8am, with the six-hour journey including three changes.

There are services back home after the match but none is less than six hours long, none requires fewer than three changes and only one – which leaves around half an hour after full-time – arrives before midnight.