Ranking The 5 Biggest Rivals Of Newcastle United
3. Liverpool
Liverpool and Newcastle have been big rivals for a while now. The Toon Army and the Kop are widely regarded as two of the very best fanbases in world football, which just adds to what we’ve seen develop since 1992.
The two teams have been pinned against each other on multiple occasions now and every game is every football fan’s dream. However, one of the hands-down most exciting games happened in the Premier League season when Andy Carroll and Jose Enrique and had to face their previous teammates after they both fled to Liverpool in 2011.
The atmosphere was immense when Carroll was substituted off early and Enrique embarrassingly took his place between the sticks towards the end of the game after Pepe Reina was sent off for headbutting James Perch. It really was one of the feel-good moments of the Premier League season.
2. Middlesbrough
The game between Middlesbrough and Newcastle is called The Tyne-Tees derby. Though Middlesbrough has never really been a big enough club to bother Newcastle as much as their other local rivals, when two teams are within 45 miles of each other, there still has to be something there.
The derby had increased importance in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as the only North-East derby of the season, since at the time Newcastle United and Middlesbrough were Premier League teams and Sunderland was largely outside the top flight at the time.
These two teams have given their fans several very exciting games. The 2-2 draw was the peek of the whole 2009-10 championship season, and everybody still remembers the thrill of watching these two play against each other.
The first game between these teams was played in 1988, in which Newcastle won 3-0 at St. James’ Park Stadium. So far, the clubs have met 129 times with Newcastle winning 51 times compared to Middlesbrough 40.