Last-Minute Football Tickets: Save Big on Matchdays

Did you know you can find bargains on resale football tickets if you buy shortly before a match? As kick-off nears, many resellers with unsold stock may slash prices depending on buyer demand and the circumstances of the fixture.

In the 2020s, football ticketing is fully digital. Since Covid, Premier League turnstiles use mobile or NFC tickets, making transactions instantaneous. This ultra-streamlined system allows you to buy football tickets and be in your stadium seat within minutes.

Using data from Ticket Compare, which aggregates prices from top secondary markets, this article explores how patience and timing can help you secure cheap last-minute football tickets through three detailed case studies. 

Cheap Last-Minute Football Tickets: Three Case Studies

To investigate the phenomenon of late ticket discounts, we tracked the prices of three fixtures over the course of a week before kick-off. The home teams for these three matches were clubs in very different circumstances.

• Team 1 was high-flying Liverpool, enjoying a sensational start to the season under Arne Slot and emerging as an early front-runner in the title race. On Saturday November 2 the Reds hosted Brighton, going well with new boss Fabian Hürzeler.
• Team 2 was Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolves were chosen as a team in a poor run of form that had carried over from 2023/24. The club sat 19th in the table, without a win in the current season, and having won just 5 games in 2024. For this match, we expected low demand, and wanted to see how that would be reflected in the ticket price come Saturday 2 November for their match at home to struggling Crystal Palace.
• Team 3 was Manchester United, a team with a passionate fanbase, buying up Old Trafford tickets in good times and bad. However, the start of November was certainly a bad time for the Red Devils, with Manchester United 14th in the table, fresh from defeat away at West Ham, and preparing to host Chelsea on November 3, in a difficult match that could pile more misery on the club.

For each match we logged the total number of ticket listings on Ticket Compare, as well as the price range from low to high, and the median (middle) price of all available tickets for a rough average. 

A median is the logical option for calculating an average, because the highest resale ticket prices can be absurdly high, as we’ll see. 

We took a count for each day before each fixture, and then on the day of the match took two or three counts depending on the kick-off time.

Last-Minute Football Tickets Case Study 1: Liverpool vs Brighton - Nov 2

Now, demand for Liverpool tickets is always huge, but has only increased with the impressive start made by new manager Arne Slot in 2024/25. 

Knowing that Liverpool are in a groove that could easily lead to a Premier League title, we wanted to see how this was reflected in ticket pricing in the days and hours before their match against Brighton at Anfield. This was a classic 3 pm kick-off, so there would be none of the timing issues that might affect fans for lunchtime or evening matches for Seagulls fans buying Brighton tickets for this away match. 

Liverpool vs Brighton - Saturday November 2, 3:00 pm

For Reds fans hoping to save money with last-minute football tickets, we noticed some interesting trends. Looking at the average lowest price of a Liverpool ticket, all in the Anfield Road End, there’s a noticeable downward trend as the week goes by, with a few peaks and troughs along the way.

To illustrate, the cheapest last-minute Liverpool ticket that we found at any point during the entire week was at 12:00 pm on the day of the match, just three hours before kick-off. The most expensive were on Monday and Tuesday at the start of the week. 

The main thing to learn is that even if a match is in immense demand like this one, the ticket price will fall later on. You just have to be brave, and prepared to spend some time monitoring the price, waiting for a drop. 

Last-Minute Football Tickets Case Study 2: Wolves vs Crystal Palace - Nov 2

We initially decided to draw a direct comparison between just two teams: Liverpool and Manchester United, but Erik ten Hag was sacked, which put a spanner in the works. 

Naturally, it seemed likely that newly optimistic Man Utd fans would snap up tickets hopeful of seeing an improvement after weeks of struggles. So we had to pick a new comparison, and struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers seemed like a good bet. 

Wolves vs Crystal Palace - Saturday November 2, 5:30 pm

For Wolverhampton Wanderers’ match against Crystal Palace at Molineux, you can spot a trend towards cheaper Wolves tickets as the week went by. 

In fact, every day we checked, the price of the cheapest tickets fell. These unspecified seats, which is normal for resale football tickets, were in the longside Steve Bull Stand, above the away fans at Molineux. 

If you were a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan with a bit of patience, you could have purchased tickets for Crystal Palace for less than face value.

Last-Minute Football Tickets Case Study 3: Man Utd vs Chelsea - Nov 3

For the final case in point, we got a little unlucky. We began collecting data for Manchester United vs Chelsea on the morning of Monday October 28. 

One hour after our first measure, Erik ten Hag’s dismissal was announced, which naturally changed the whole complexion of their big match against Chelsea and boosted demand for Manchester United tickets for this match. A daunting fixture against an in-form team suddenly became a chance for a clean slate under caretaker Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Manchester United vs Chelsea - Sunday November 3, 4:30 pm

Yet, even with this disruption, there is a lot of good news for Manchester United fans hoping to snag some last-minute football tickets. 

Naturally, the demand for tickets for Manchester United vs Chelsea increased significantly after Monday’s announcement, pushing up the price of the cheapest, most expensive and median tickets. 

However, on Sunday we started to notice some volatility. The price of the cheapest tickets, in the West Stand and East Stand, climbed, reflecting the sudden popularity of this fixture, including among Blues fans buying up Chelsea tickets. But then they bottomed out in the hour before kick-off to £50, which is a reasonable price for a match of this magnitude. 

Key Observations on Buying Last-Minute Football Tickets

Listings Drop Significantly Before Kick-Off

• Liverpool vs Brighton: Listings fell from 346 on Monday to just 9 by Saturday 2:00 pm, a 97% decrease.
• Wolves vs Crystal Palace: Listings decreased from 51 on Monday to 34 by Saturday 3:00 pm, a 33% drop.
• Manchester United vs Chelsea: Listings fell dramatically from 524 on Tuesday to 24 by Sunday 4:00 pm, a 95% decrease.
• Insight: Sellers aggressively offload tickets closer to kick-off, resulting in far fewer options for last-minute buyers but potential bargains.

Price Trends Indicate Bargain Opportunities

• Liverpool vs Brighton: The lowest price dropped from £134 (Monday) to £86 (Saturday 12:00), a 36% reduction.
• Wolves vs Crystal Palace: The lowest price plummeted from £64 (Monday) to just £25 (Saturday 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm), a 61% decrease.
• Manchester United vs Chelsea: The lowest price fluctuated but ultimately dropped from £66 (Wednesday) to £50 (Sunday 4:00 pm), a 24% reduction.
• Insight: Waiting until the last day can yield discounts on the lowest-priced tickets, but availability may become severely limited.

Median Prices Offer a More Stable Perspective

• Liverpool vs Brighton: The median price increased from £261 (Monday) to £360 (Friday) before dropping sharply to £142 (Saturday 2:00 pm).
• Wolves vs Crystal Palace: The median price dropped steadily from £116 (Monday) to £97 (Saturday 3:00 pm), a 16% reduction.
• Manchester United vs Chelsea: The median price rose steadily through the week, peaking at £300 (Sunday 8:00 am) but dipping to £214 (Sunday 4:00 pm).
• Insight: Median prices tend to increase as demand rises closer to matchday, especially for high-profile fixtures, but last-minute dips are possible if sellers are motivated to offload tickets.

Best Bargain Opportunities

• Liverpool vs Brighton: 36% savings on lowest-priced tickets.
• Wolves vs Crystal Palace: 61% savings on lowest-priced tickets.
• Manchester United vs Chelsea: 24% savings on lowest-priced tickets.

Cheap Last-Minute Football Tickets: Our Conclusions and Tips

For buyers, here are our main takeaways from this research. 

• The Circumstances Count: As we discovered within minutes of choosing Manchester United as a club in crisis, a club’s situation will affect ticket prices up to the last minute before kick-off. As it happened, Man Utd’s situation changed in minutes, and it affected prices. 
• Check Ticket Prices Often: On the secondary market, the final 24 hours before a match are chaotic. Sellers may be desperate to sell their stock, and this can result in a lot of changeability. In the case of Wolverhampton Wanderers there was a 40% price reduction shortly before the match. Keep your finger on the pulse.
• Be Brave: A bit like a gambler or trader waiting to strike while the iron is hot, a canny buyer of last-minute football tickets needs to get a sense of timing in those last 24 hours. Of course, this means taking a big risk, especially if you are travelling a long distance for the match, but there were late deals available for all three matches that we covered. So fortune favours the brave. 
• It’s Not all About the Cheapest Seats: We kept a close eye on the median price of tickets to see if you can pick up a bargain on a premium experience. Ticket Compare works with a number of official hospitality resellers, and these higher priced tickets sell out slower than general admission seats. 

So that wraps things up. If you’re ready to get cheap football tickets, then stay up-to-date with our listings and see if you can play the market. Don't miss out—start tracking last-minute football ticket deals on Ticket Compare now!