For the 42,000 English football fans arriving to watch the Champions League final Moscow has said it will expedite visas, clear runways, extend subway hours and build a bridge.

Hotel rooms to accommodate Manchester United and Chelsea supporters descending on the Luzhniki stadium on May 21 were more of a problem, however.

Moscow has about 34,000 hotel rooms for about 75,000 guests according to US State Department statistics. Some 5,500 are so-called Western-standard hotel rooms and local media say almost all are booked during the Champions League final.

One idea floated by deputy mayor Valeriy Vinogradov, the man organising the city's efforts for the final, is for fans to fly in the morning of the match and leave Russia immediately after.

Such a plan would mean the city would not reap the benefit of extra tourist spending, however.

The Russian foreign ministry has dispatched teams of extra embassy workers to Manchester and London to expedite entry formalities and officials said all fans would get their visas on time.

Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov told Russian news agency RBK they would build a temporary footbridge over the busy road along Luzhniki Stadium and officials said the city would open its smallest airport Bykovo to comply with a UEFA requirement that opposing fans arrive separately.

The city's vast and sprawling metro would also run an extra three hours into early hours of the morning after the game.