From the fiery Old Firm derby to Arsenal and Tottenham’s bitter feud, Mail Sport ranks the greatest rivalries in British football after Wolves and West Brom fans clash at The Hawthorns

Whether it’s the passion of the Old Firm or the tension of the North London derby, there’s nothing quite like the atmosphere around some of football’s biggest rivalries. 

With bragging rights on the line these games have a different edge to them, one that can be compared to the feeling of a cup final, with both fans and players desperate to claim victory over their bitter rivals. 

Some of the United Kingdom’s oldest rivalries are steeped in history and tradition, with some teams basing their feuds on conflicts that originated nearly 200 years ago. 

But which is the UK’s biggest footballing derby? 

While each rivalry has it’s own significance to every set of fans, there are some fixtures that are bigger than others. 

So, here at Mail Sport, we’ve picked out some of the greatest derbies in British football, taking stock of the history behind each fixture, the atmosphere around each game and the significance it has had on the footballing landscape.

One of the oldest and most historic rivalries in British football is the Steel City Derby. Contested in a city that lives and breathes football, when Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday go toe-to-toe, the town comes to a halt and bragging rights are on the line.  

Wednesday were the original club in the city, with United being established in 1889. Wednesday vacated Bramall Lane due to a dispute over gate receipts, with their City rivals subsequently moving in, which sparked tensions between both camps.

They first met back in 1890 at Wednesday’s Olive Grove ground and have gone on to play 131 times subsequently, with their last meeting coming in 2019. And while both sets of fans enjoy a pretty healthy and good-natured relationship, they have had some pretty fierce meetings with fans having clashed outside of both Bramall Lane and Hilsborough in the past.  

Sheffield Wednesday interestingly once used to call Bramall Lane their home ground 

The ‘Edinburgh Derby’ is one fixture on the Scottish football calendar that we look forward to year-on-year. It is a hotly anticipated contest between two passionate sides that live and breathe football and are desparate to get one over their rivals. 

Hearts first did battle against Hibernian on Christmas Day in 1875, and since then both cluibs have met 662 times. While Hibs have won 207 of those matches, The Maroons are the more successful side, having claimed victory 291 times. Yet, despite their success, you can always guarantee that this will be a cracking game on the fixture list each and every season.  

Hibernian and Hearts have one of the oldest rivalries of any club in the United Kingdom

Also dubbed ‘El Cloughico’ the East Midlands derby is, according to a fan survey, one of the biggest derbies in the country. In fact this is only one of the few football derbies in the country that contest for a trophy, the Brian Clough trophy.

The pair first met during the 1892-93 season and have subsequently gone toe-to-toe 109 times since then, with Forest edging ahead of Derby for victories. In recent years, the Garibaldi have advanced to go two divisions ahead of their rivals, with their last meeting coming back in 2022. 

Derby and nottingham Forest players clash during the East Midlands derby, also coined ‘El Cloughico’

While many United fans will tell you their biggest rivals are Liverpool, this derby brings plenty of talking points year after year. While there is an argument to say that the edge of this clash has somewhat dwindled in recent years, bragging rights are always up for grabs, especially in a footballing city like Manchester.

It is also a fixture that nearly always delivers memorable moments, from Mario Balotelli’s ‘Why Always Me?’ shirt celebration to Wayne Rooney’s sensational overhead kick in 2011. 

Mario Balotelli shows off his iconic ‘why always me?’ shirt during the Manchester derby

Ugly scenes erupted at the Black Country derby on Sunday after violent scenes broke out at The Hawthorns. Fans storming onto the pitch, broke into rival areas and were seen clashing with police officers at the stadium. Meanwhile, Albion defender Kyle Bartley was forced to grab his children from the stands and take them to safety. 

It’s a game that doesn’t come around all too often, but when it does, there’s a lot on the line. Both clubs first met back before the foundation of the Football League, with West Brom defeating Wolves 4-2 in the third round of the Birmingham Senior Cup back in 1883.

They would grow to becoming two of English football’s best sides in the 1950s where Wolves and West Brom would go head-to-head to challenge for the top-flight title on several occasions, with Wolves pipping Albion to the league title in 1954 while West Brom would clinch the FA Cup. 

But this is a derby that has got very heated in the past, with both sets of players famously clashing at Molineux in 2001, after Portuguese player, Jordao, scored to give West Brom a 1-0 victory. 

Wolves and West Brom fans clash in ugly scenes during their game at The Hawthorns 

A clash that almost always delivers big tackles, heated exchanges and plenty of goals, Tottenham and Chelsea have a fiery relationship both on and off the pitch. 

While perhaps not considered primary rivals, both sets of fans see this fixture as one of the biggest meetings on the football calendar, with their feud really igniting at the FA Cup final in 1967, where Tottenham would claim a 2-1 win against Chelsea.

In recent years things have flared up on the pitch pitch. Their meeting at Stamford Bridge in 2016, also known as the ‘Battle of the Bridge’, has gone down in football folklore of being one of the most brutal Premier League matches ever. 

It was a firey exchange that saw Tottneham receive nine yellow cards as both teams produced some very robust challenges and also brawled on the pitch. This season, Chelsea completed a 4-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium back in November in what was another game for the ages, that saw Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie both sent off. It seems there is still plenty of fire between both clubs. 

This is a game that attracts a lot of police attention every time these two sides meet. Man United and Leeds’ rivalry is steeped in history, with the origins of this long-standing feud going back to the War of the Roses between the neighbouring counties of Lancashire and Yorkshire. 

After many years of battles, Leeds would drop into the lower leagues for several seasons, before finally returning to the Premier League in 2020-21, with both sides meeting for the first time in 17 years. The game featured several controversial incidents between both sets of supporters who clashed in Manchester City centre ahead of the game.

Nine hundred police officers were on hand to try to control the crowds at Elland Road on Sunday

Also referred to as the ‘friendly derby‘, the Merseyside derby is one rivalry that is doesn’t attract as much fire as some other rivalries on this list, but that doesn’t make it any less. It is called the friendly derby due to the perceived friendlyness among Everton and Liverpool fans, with many sharing family members who support the other team. 

But of course that doesn’t mean the rivalry is a passive one. Far from it in fact. When it comes to derby day that doesn’t take away from the passion shown both in the terraces and on the pitch. From crunching tackles to heated feuds, the Merseyside derby is by far one of the most exciting rivalries in the UK.

Conor Coady of and Seamus Coleman of Everton clash with Liverpool’s Andy Robertson  

7. Millwall vs West Ham 

Historically known as the Dockers Derby, Millwall vs West Ham is a fixture that has been marred by violence in the past. In fact, their rivalry has been embedded in hooliganism culture, with Milwall and West Ham’s feud being represented in many films and books. 

On the pitch, they’ve met 99 times in total, with the Lions winning 38 of those meetings. Despite that, Millwall have failed to claim victory over West Ham in their last four meetings, with their last win coming back in 2004. The pair last met in 2012 in the Championship, with the Metropolitan Police rolling out City-wide operations in a bid to control crowd trouble.

West Ham and Milwall are renowned for having one of the most violent rivalries in the UK 

Newcastle’s recent FA Cup victory against Sunderland showcased just how much this fixture means to the fans. Considering the size of both clubs, the nature of their rivalry and just how good their recent meetings have been, ‘Wear-Tyne’ derby is easily one of the most anticipated games in British football. 

And even while both sides are separated by several tiers, that does little to change how much of a big occasion this meeting is. It’s also played host to some iconic moments in British football history, including Alan Shearer’s final ever goal as a professional footballer during Newcastle’s 4-1 win in 2006. 

Sunderland fans look on as they take on bitter rivals Newcastle at the Stadium of Light

The ‘South Coast’ derby isn’t a game that comes around that often, but is one of the fiercest and most passionate exchanges in British football. While Portsmouth and Southampton are approximately 30 miles apart geographically, both clubs have been at loggerheads for decades, with the roots of this rivalry dating back to a maritime dispute back in 1912. 

According to the BBC, the animosity firs arose when dock workers from Southampton had refused to crew the Titanic’s sister ship, the Olympic, due to a lack of lifeboats. Dock workers from Portsmouth had subsequently stepped in to take their place, thus angering the Southampton workers and igniting the original feud.

While their first meeting came back 1900, there have only been 71 meetings between both clubs, with the pair having spent long periods of time in different divisions. Yet, when the fixture does roll round, there have been violent clashes between fans in the past, with some fans opening about the greusome confrontations and street fights they’ve participated in. 

The derby was also heightened when former Pompey manager Harry Redknapp swapped allegiances to join Southampton in 2004. He would spark even more controversy when he returned to Portsmouth in 2005.

Southampton and Portsmouth have not played eachother in a long time but have one of the fiercest rivalries in the game

From Gary Cahill’s acrobatic finish in 2006 to Dion Dublin’s headbutt on Robbie Savage in 2002, this is a fixture that always delivers, perhaps because this match is soaked in history and is watched by two sets of highly passionate fans. While this game was first contested in 1879, Villa and Birmingham have not met since 2019, with Birmingham having failed to beat their rivals since 2010.

Despite that, when derby day descends on Birmingham, the atmosphere, the tension and hostility is palpable and makes this one of the most exciting rivalries in world football. 

Tempers flare during Aston Villla vs Birmingham City, another of the oldest derbies in the UK  

It would have been a glaring omission to not have included the north London derby close to the top of our list. It’s a match that always brings goals and controversy and even for the neutral it’s always an epic watch.

But this one really is about bragging rights. As any Tottenham or Arsenal fan will tell you, this is one of the most important matches of the season for them, not least because both teams have been vying at the top of the Premier League table in recent years. 

And moving between the sides is certainly not the best idea, as Sol Campbell found out after his move across the divide. While his transfer from Spurs to Arsenal was a shock move, he’s copped lots of abuse in the past from Tottenham fans, who notably branded him ‘judas’.

Tottenham fans hold up signs calling Sol Campbell ‘Judas’ after he left the club to join rivals Arsenal 

2. Man United vs Liverpool

Two giants of English football. Two proud cities that are separated by about 30 miles. And two sets of fans who have enjoyed a bitter feud for many years; this is one of English football’s greatest rivalries. 

In fact, the origins of the rivalry dates back to the Industrial Revolution after the construction of the Manchester Ship Canal, originally opposed by Liverpool residents and created much resentment between both cities. 

Yet, the battle to be Britian’s best football team has kept these two sides at loggerheads for nearly 50 years. While Liverpool hold more European titles, Sir Alex Ferguson’s arrival at United exacerbated their feud, with the Red Devils growing to assert their dominance in the Premier League. 

While they hold a slight edge over Liverpool, having beaten the Reds 81 times in 211 meetings. But Liverpool’s recent 7-0 win in March 2023 and their 5-0 victory in October 2021 have seen Jurgen Klopp’s side take most of the recent bragging rights.  

Liverpool put seven goals past their rivals Manchester United back in March 2023 

1. Celtic vs Rangers

Arguably the fiercest and most bitter derby in British football, the ‘Old Firm’ is unlike any fixture on this list. Some claim that the game between Celtic and Rangers is called the Old Firm because it is the meeting of two ‘old, firm friends.’ Yet, their relationship is far from friendly, with the rivalry and animosity between both sets of fans being ferocious at times. 

On the pitch this is a fixture that always delivers. Glasgow is a city that lives and breathes football and the passion of the players and the fans means there are almost always big challenges, plenty of drama and goals galore. 

The Old Firm is widely considered the biggest derby in world football thanks to the passionate and fiery support of both fan bases