10 Biggest Football Rivalries In Midlands
In this article, we will be having a look at some of the biggest football rivalries in the Midlands. Let’s start by splitting the region down the middle. To make it simple, we’re dividing the Midlands into two halves; East Midlands and West Midlands.
The big clubs in the East Midlands are Nottingham Forest, Derby County, and Leicester City. Also in the region: Notts County, Chesterfield and Northampton Town. The West Midlands, on the other hand, features Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton Wanderers, West Bromwich Albion, Stoke City, Shrewsbury Town, Walsall, Coventry City and a few others.
Let us begin with our list of the 10 biggest football rivalries in the Midlands.
10. Birmingham City vs Wolves
When it comes to West Midlands derby matches, there’s plenty of needle on the park whenever any of the area’s big four sides play each other. The Second City derby, Aston Villa vs. Birmingham City, is more than matched in competitiveness and intensity by the Black Country derby, between Wolves and West Bromwich Albion.
Even though they are not bitter rivals, there is a dislike between the two. The bragging rights at stake make it an intense affair, and this game could be regarded as one of the biggest football rivalries in the Midlands.
9. West Brom vs Birmingham City
It might not be a hotly-contested rivalry, but it’s a local derby and both teams are trying to win. The main rivals of the two clubs are Wolves and Aston Villa, respectively. Emotions run high when there is a clash between these clubs, which take their names from the two main cities of the West Midlands.
Similarly, when West Brom and Birmingham City face each other, the intensity is palpable. These matches might not be the fiercest rivalries, but the local pride and bragging rights at stake make them significant and highly charged encounters.
8. Stoke City vs Port Vale
The Potteries Derby is the local derby between the Potters and fellow Stoke-on-Trent based outfit Port Vale. The fans of each club both consider the other to be their main rivals, this has led to a heated atmosphere at these matches. One study in 2019 ranked it as the joint-28th biggest rivalry in English professional football, level with the Manchester derby.
7. Derby County vs Leicester City
This fixture between Leicester City and Derby County is a major football rivalry in the East Midlands. Often called an East Midlands derby, it is one of the biggest football rivalries in the Midlands. Although both clubs have a strong mutual dislike for each other, they both consider Nottingham Forest their main rivals.
6. Aston Villa vs West Brom
Aston Villa vs. West Brom is one of the West Midlands derbies. While the younger generation typically reserves their most abusive language for Birmingham City and Wolverhampton Wanderers, some supporters see this as the big West Midlands derby.
Their stadiums, Villa Park and The Hawthorns, are only four miles apart. Both clubs have bigger rivals—Birmingham City for Villa in the Second City derby and Wolverhampton Wanderers for West Brom in the Black Country derby. A 2010 article in The Daily Telegraph ranked the rivalry between Aston Villa and West Bromwich Albion as the third most fierce in the region, behind the two aforementioned derbies.