Manchester United have reportedly asked Uefa to move the kick-off of their Europa League round-of-16 second-leg tie with Liverpool to a later slot.

The bitter north west rivals are set to kick-off at 6pm at Old Trafford on March 17 but the Red Devils believe the timing could cause problems for their supporters and want it pushed back until 8pm.

According to the Daily Mirror, United have made an official request with the European football administrative body with them hoping to secure parity with the Anfield fixture which is scheduled to start at 8.05pm in Merseyside on March 10.

It is not thought that a timing change would attract the opposition of either Manchester City Council nor Greater Manchester Police as it would allow spectators more time to navigate their way through the city in rush hour.

Meanwhile, Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, is preparing to face Manchester City in his first domestic English final at Wembley. The Reds face Manuel Pellegrini’s side on Sunday afternoon in the showpiece Capital One Cup final.

“I love this game; it is more about the performance of the whole team,” the German said. “If you look at big titles in the past, Denmark were European champions; that is the best title I ever heard about.

“They met each other at McDonald’s, then they heard they had to go to the European Championship and then they won the title [in 1992]. That is cool. Greece too [in 2004]. It is not always the best team that wins. Everybody can win if you have the right idea and if you are full of trust.”