Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium now ranks sixth in the Premier League for average match attendances this season, a modest placement for one of England’s most successful clubs both on and off the pitch.
According to figures from FBref, City drew an average of 52,342 spectators per league game, placing them behind traditional heavyweights such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal in the attendance standings.
Despite City’s on-field success over the last decade, the Etihad’s relative crowd figures underline that capacity and ticket pricing remain key factors in attendance trends.
With a 52,900-seat capacity, Etihad crowds are impressive in percentage terms, but numerically smaller than at larger venues such as Old Trafford, the London Stadium and the Emirates Stadium.
How the rest of the Premier League compares to Man City’s attendance figures
When it comes to matchday crowds, Manchester United continue to set the benchmark across the Premier League.
Old Trafford remains the league’s busiest ground, with over 73,000 supporters attending on average, regularly pushing close to its full capacity and underlining the club’s enduring global appeal despite recent on-pitch struggles.
Close behind are two London heavyweights who have fully embraced life in modern mega-stadiums.
West Ham United draw an average of 62,454 fans to the London Stadium, while Tottenham Hotspur are not far behind with around 61,007 spectators packing into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium each matchday, with both clubs benefiting from vast capacities that comfortably exceed most of the division.
The traditional giants also remain dominant in the attendance charts, as Liverpool average just over 60,000 supporters per game, while Arsenal follow closely with slightly above 60,200 at the Emirates Stadium, placing them firmly within the top five.
By comparison, Manchester City sit sixth in the rankings, with a noticeable gap of nearly 8,000 fans between them and Arsenal above. While City’s numbers remain strong by most standards, they lag behind the league’s biggest crowd-pullers.
Below City, several clubs populate the sub-50,000 bracket. Everton and Newcastle United both average just over 52,000, while Sunderland sit in the mid-40,000s. Aston Villa round out the group with just under 42,000 per match.
City’s average attendance is expected to improve over the coming years, as the club are set to add 7,900 extra seats to the North Stand in the Etihad Stadium expansion plans, which will take the overall capacity at the Etihad Stadium to over 60,000.
FGG Says
Manchester City being sixth in Premier League attendance rankings is not a reflection of disinterest, but of the interplay between stadium capacity, pricing strategy and supporter culture.
Clubs with larger grounds and entrenched home-game traditions will always dominate attendance charts, but City’s model emphasises accessibility over sheer volume. If City’s ongoing stadium expansion and fan-focused policies continue, their attendance ranking could climb, showing that building deeper engagement with local and travelling fans can be as important as expanding steel and concrete.