The English football fan base is one of the most cultured and storied in the sport. With hundreds of teams scattered across the country, millions of people, be it in England or further afield, have pledged their allegiance to any one of those sides, with the majority of English clubs–at least in the top four tiers–being able to boast a strong base of followers.
With supporting a team comes the highs and lows of each individual match, along with rivalries. Feuds with clubs, be it for geographical reasons or animosity in the past, contribute massively to football, with any match against a rival often carrying with it a higher sense of emotion.
In England, there are countless rivalries shared between teams, with the sport having a history of well over 100 years behind it. Which 10 rivalries, though, are the biggest in English football? While clashes from the Premier League dominate this list, there are a couple of spicy affairs that have stemmed from the Championship too.
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Ranking Factors
Lists are subjective as a concept, with two lists on the same topic having different entries being more than understandable, depending on the writer's opinion. With that being said, this list has been ranked based on the following criteria:
Intensity - How much passion is often seen in each game mentioned?
History - How long has the rivalry been going on for?
Fan reception - When football fans are asked about them, which rivalries generally spring to mind?
Biggest Rivalries in English Football
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10 Manchester United vs. Arsenal
Manchester United and Arsenal share a long history with each other, having often played in the same division of football for over a century and meeting for the first time in 1894. The rivalry between the two, however, is a fairly recent development, having been particularly noticeable since the 1990s.
The Red Devils and Gunners were, respectively, under the management of Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger, two of the Premier League’s greatest ever gaffers. Both were competing for titles throughout much of the new-look English top flight’s early life and as such, there was an increased level of rivalry between the two.
For a number of years, with Roy Keane as captain of Man United and Arsenal being led by Patrick Vieira, any clash between the two sides was always worth a watch and often involved on-field troubles and numerous red cards. The famous Battle of Old Trafford took place in 2003 between the sides and just a year later, Man United were the team to end Arsenal’s legendary unbeaten run, only fuelling discontent.
9 Liverpool vs. Everton
No other derby or rivalry in the history of the English top flight has been in existence for as long as the Merseyside derby. Everton and Liverpool first faced each other in 1894 and there has since been well over 200 matches contested between the two sides, in a rivalry sometimes referred to as “the friendly derby,” due to many households in Merseyside boasting supporters of either a red or blue persuasion.
Malice between the sides, however, has increased somewhat since the 1980s. In fact, no two sides to have faced each other in the Premier League have seen more red cards than Liverpool and Everton. Their latest meeting at the time of writing was a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, the last-ever Merseyside derby to be played at the stadium, that captured much of the drama and intensity that has made the rivalry so famous.
8 Leeds United vs. Manchester United
Throughout the modern era, in no small part due to Leeds United’s fall from the Premier League, their rivalry with Manchester United is not necessarily thought of as much as it once was. That is not to say, however, that fans of either side have grown to like the other any more, with the Roses rivalry still ranking as one of England’s best.
Animosity between Yorkshire and Lancashire can be traced back to the War of the Roses over 500 years ago, so naturally, such tension came through to football. Leeds and Man United first met in 1923 and since then, have played each other over 100 times. The clashes started to intensify in the 1970s with the rise of football hooliganism and the rivalry still burned across the 1990s and early 2000s when both clubs were within the top four of the Premier League.
Even now, when the two clubs meet there is always a large police presence on matchdays and tension between the opposing fan bases remains, even if there has been a general reduction in overall violence.
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7 Arsenal vs. Tottenham Hotspur
One of the fiercest rivalries in England, the animosity between Arsenal and Tottenham is unrelenting, with both sets of fans regarding the other club as their main rival. The two have been playing each other for over 100 years, though the rivalry truly began when the Gunners moved to North London in 1913.
Only a handful of players have ever represented both clubs and rarely ever is such a decision met with anything but rage. Sol Campbell, for example, is still despised by Tottenham fans over 20 years after he departed the club on a free transfer to move to the Gunners.
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. West Bromwich Albion
Police officers and fans with flares are seen as an incident occurred during West Brom vs Wolves
The Black Country derby actually incorporates three teams, with Walsall also being a side within the region. Due to the Saddlers having spent most of their history playing football at a lower tier, however, the derby tends to be played between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion.
Both clubs have, especially in recent years, spent time together both in the Premier League and in the Championship, though the derby has not been contested in any league since 2021, when the Baggies drew 1-1 with Wolves at The Hawthorns.
At the start of 2024, West Brom hosted Wolves in the FA Cup, a match that was moved to an early kick-off for fears of violence that would eventually prove correct. The match was temporarily suspended due to crowd disorder, with missiles being launched by both sets of supporters in a match that served to remind the country of how deeply fans feel about the Black Country derby.
5 Sheffield Wednesday vs. Sheffield United
A rivalry that dates back to well over 100 years ago, Sheffield Wednesday and Sheffield United make up the Steel City derby, one of the most anticipated match-ups in the country. The sides have a staggeringly close record against one another, with the Blades having won 50 matches and Wednesday winning 48 of their 145 meetings to date.
Following Sheffield United’s relegation from the Premier League at the conclusion of the 2023/24 campaign, the Steel City derby was played in league football for the first time in five years last November, when United overcame their bitter rivals by a 1-0 scoreline at Bramall Lane.
4 Newcastle United vs. Sunderland
Newcastle United Sunderland
The two biggest teams from Tyne and Wear, Newcastle and Sunderland were always going to share a rivalry and have done since their first meeting in the late 1880s. The two sides have spent years playing out incredible matches and with over 150 games between them in the book, they share a fairly even balance of wins, with Newcastle having won 54 matches and Sunderland having won 53.
It has been almost a decade since the Tyne-Wear derby took place in the Premier League, or any league for that matter, in no small part due to Sunderland’s misfortunes and their fall to League One. In 2024, the clubs met for the first time in eight years in the FA Cup, a match that Newcastle won 3-0 in what was their first victory over Sunderland since 2011.
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3 West Ham United vs. Millwall
West Ham play against Millwall
Though they have been playing each other since before the turn of the 20th century, the rivalry between Millwall and West Ham United started to really intensify in the 1970s. There was no competitive meeting between the teams for almost 20 years between 1959 and 1978, but from there, tensions rose astronomically.
When hooliganism was at its peak in football, the Inter City Firm and Millwall Bushwackers were two of the most prominent groups with violence and arrests being common in any match-up between the two sides. Though such antics have lessened with the decline of hooliganism, that does not mean that the two sets of fans are any fonder of the other.
As recently as 2009, when Millwall travelled to Upton Park in a League Cup clash, the eventual match would lead to genuine riots breaking out, such is the venom that Millwall and West Ham have for one another.
2 Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City
Players of Aston Villa and Birmingham gather around after Jack Grealish gets punched
The Second City derby was first contested in 1879 and within the 146 years since, the hatred between Aston Villa and Birmingham City has only grown, with both sets of fans often regarding the other as their biggest rivals. The teams have faced each other over 100 times, with Villa having taken the majority of wins in those encounters.
Villa and Birmingham haven’t faced each other since 2019, the last year in which both sides competed in the same division, the Championship. Since then, Villa have tasted Champions League glory while City suffered relegation to League One, though their latest meeting is one that remains in the memory of most.
In March 2019, Jack Grealish scored what proved to be the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Birmingham. The game is best remembered, however, for the pitch invader that broke onto the pitch in the first half and punched Grealish, making his eventual goal all the sweeter to Villa fans.
1 Manchester United vs. Liverpool
Manchester United vs Liverpool 2009
Sometimes known as the Northwest derby in relation to their geographical position, any meeting between Liverpool and Manchester United is often considered one of the biggest in English football. Over the course of the Premier League era and in the years before, both clubs have often been contending against each other for major honours.
Since the 1890s, the Reds and Red Devils have faced off over 200 times and between them, have won a staggering 39 league titles. Such ambition only further fuels the rivalry, with Liverpool and Man United having both enjoyed spells as dominant forces within English football.
A 2012 clash between the two sides is often remembered for Luis Suarez’s refusal to shake hands with French defender Patrice Evra, after the former was suspended for eight matches after racially abusing the latter. In 2023, Liverpool notched their biggest-ever win in the rivalry by thrashing Manchester United 7-0 at Anfield. Should the Red Devils return to their usual position of prominence in the years to come, then this is a rivalry that will no doubt continue to thrive.
(All stats are from Transfermarkt and are correct as of 12/03/2025 )
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