'English Football's Top Rivalries Decided By Hatred Between The Clubs

A study has revealed which are the biggest rivalries in English football, based on the hatred each team has for the other, and some fans might be surprised by the list.

Sport is all the better for rivalries, with atmosphere becoming ever better the more intense the rivalry with another team is.

Historically Manchester United and Liverpool are the two biggest rivals in English football but, according to Reddit, the pair are only fourth on the list when it comes to cumulative hatred of the opposition.

The survey claims Portsmouth vs Southampton is surprisingly the biggest rivalry in English football, with Exeter vs Plymouth second, they really hate each other on the south coast.

England's top 30 rivalries. Image: Reddit

Pompey, now in League One, and Premier League Saints haven't played each other since the 2011/12 season, when both were in the Championship.

They last played against each other in the top tier in April 2005, with Pompey beating their fierce rivals 4-1 at Fratton Park, after Harry Redknapp had moved from Portsmouth to Southampton, before the Saints eventually got relegated.

There's actually only four all Premier League rivalries, which may surprise some, with the north London derby beating United vs Liverpool, Brighton vs Crystal Palace and United vs Manchester City as the biggest top tier rivalry.

Perhaps rather unfortunately and depressingly, Bury's local rivalry with Rochdale makes the top 30, despite the fact the Shakers have been thrown out of the league by the EFL and will be in the non league next season, in one form or another.

A similar study revealed some more interesting findings about rivalries with each clubs top five rivals named.

In the Premier League fans of 10 clubs named Manchester United as one of their top five rivals. With United themselves taken out of the equation and no data for Chelsea or Watford it's 10 teams out of 17 that consider them one of their biggest rivals.

No surprise that United's biggest rivals are Liverpool, followed by Manchester City, Chelsea, Leeds and Arsenal, though the order of the final three may surprise some.