We'll be visiting London in April and my son would love to see a Premier League Football (soccer) game. I've found a service that has tickets available for the Birmingham vs. Fulham game on April 3 for 75 pounds each. (The Tottenham game that same day is 200 pounds!)Is there a less expensive way to purchase tickets? There are five of us so I'm trying to keep the cost per ticket down. I'd rather not buy from a scalper. Thanks for any suggestions.

I think you're being greatly ripped off - normal match tickets would typically cost between £20 and £40 each depending on the team and where you sit in the ground.

The best way to get tickets is to buy them directly from the home team - you can often buy them via internet. Is it Birmingham vs Fulham or Fulham vs Birminham? If it's the first way round, then the match will be in Birmingham which isn't any good.

My only doubt is whether the teams will be selling match tickets this far in advance - they often don't sell tickets until 3 weeks before the match. However Fulham or Tottenham shouldn't be a problem - the only teams you'll struggle to get tickets for are Chelsea and Arsenal.

Ah, now I see why Tottenham's tickets are so expensive - they're playing Chelsea, so not only is it a derby game, they're also playing one of the teams to watch at the moment.

I think you may be out of luck there - officially tickets only go on sale to non-club members on the 11th March, by which time they'll probably have sold out. But you won't have any trouble getting tickets at last minute for Fulham v Birmingham.

I went back to check the email I got. The tickets being offered are for Fulham vs. Birmingham, but I assume the game is being played in London. Are these teams so bad no one wants to see them? (Since you seem to think I'll have no trouble buying tickets in March.)Are there any other teams we might be able to see the first week in London within an hour of the city by train? I checked the Premier League website, but I'm not seeing anything else listed for those dates. Thanks!

To give you some idea: Birmingham and Fulham are 7th and 10th in the Premiership respectively (out of 20). Arsenal and Chelsea are 1st and 2nd. So they're not bad, but they're not traditionally strong teams a la Liverpool, Man Utd -- or Arsenal and Chelsea.

Birmingham are now an incredible 4th in the League, but it'll never last.

But go and see them, there's really no really bad teams in the Premiership

If you know which hotel you will be staying at in London check to see if they have a concierge. I was in Munich in April 2002 and the concierge landed me tickets to the Champions League match between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid -- face value no less.

You don't say when in April you're going but Spurs are playing both Chelsea and Arsenal in April and you will not be able to get tickets for either of these other than through touts (which is what we call "scalpers&quot. £200 is a fair price through this route.

you will easily get into Fulham's games (which are actually played at QPR's ground in Shepherds Bush.).

Fulham v Birmignham is an absolutely mid-table middle ranking game between two average sides. The atmosphere at Loftus Road is nothing special either.

For a better matchday experience you might like to try west Ham or Crystal Palace who both get large noisy crowds. Both are in the first division but are on a par playingwise with Fulham or Birmingham (IMHO. Millwall also get a rather "boisterous" crowd but I'd give them a miss unless you're either heavily armed or suicidally inclined.

Thanks for the information. We're going to be there from April 3 through 9 (leaving on the 10th). I assume west Ham and Crystal Palace are stadiums. Where are they and what teams play there? Can they be reached easily by train?

Gabebash--the home team is always listed first.

West Ham and Crystal Palace are the team names, not the stadium. They are both in London (London has a million teams). All of the clubs have websites. Just do a search and you can easily find directions.

West Ham is in West Ham - the East end of London, they play at Upton Park, which is easy to get to on the tube.

Crystal Palace play at Selhurst Park - nearest overground station is Thornton Heath, NOT selhurst.

You'd need to buy tickets in advance for West HAm but could just turn up at Palace.

GBP 75 for a Birmingham ticket??!
If you could actually buy one, which you can't, the face value of an Arsenal or Man U ticket isn't that much (for a normal seat anyway).
I second Kate - you're being taken for a ride.

If you want to buy a Fulham ticket for face value (plus a small ie £2.00 booking fee) go to their website.

You can also buy them on matchday at the stadium or they have a club shop In putney Bridge (opposite the Kings Head pub) with no booking fee.

Thanks for all of the replies. I think we'll probably end up going to the Fulham game on April 3. (My son has his heart set on seeing a Premier League game.)My understanding is that I should be able to order tickets via their website about three weeks before the game. Is that correct?

yup.

Be aware though that fixture dates are not set in stone. If the game is selcted for TV transmission it could be moved to 2pm or 4pm on sunday or 8pm on monday. Also if either team has a good cup run that can affect fixtures too.