United match off due to freezing conditions

Manchester United’s bid to maintain their position on the top of the Premier League with victory at Blackpool on Saturday has been scuppered by the freezing temperatures in England.

United are two points clear of second placed Chelsea but they may lose first place after their game was postponed as a result of the snow that has ravaged most of the country.

Blackpool chiefs confirmed that the match would become the first top-flight fixture to be postponed this weekend due to a frozen pitch at Bloomfield Road despite the club’s use of protective covers and hot-air blowers.

Temperatures had dipped below minus eight in Blackpool and the match was officially called off after referee Peter Walton carried out an inspection on Friday.

A statement on the club’s website read: “Mr Walton expressed concern that the severely affected areas of the playing surface would not thaw sufficiently for the game to be completed.”

Chelsea will replace United at the top if they win on Saturday against Everton. If the Blues slip up, Arsenal can take pole position by beating Fulham.

Championship leaders QPR’s trip to Hull headed the list of postponements in the English lower leagues as the ice and snow took its toll.

That clash was cancelled on safety grounds by the Tigers, meaning the match went the same way as Nottingham Forest v Bristol City and Portsmouth v Burnley.

The South Yorkshire derby between Doncaster and Barnsley fell victim to the weather on Thursday, as did Reading’s trip to Sheffield United.

Only four League One matches – those at Swindon, Exeter, Bristol Rovers and Brentford – survive, and just two – at Northampton and Oxford – in League Two.

All Scottish Premier League matches this weekend were postponed on Wednesday due to the weather, with the only fixture still slated to go ahead; Alloa v Peterhead in the Second Division.