Manchester United vs Liverpool is no match for biggest rivalry in Britain – and Arsenal vs Tottenham isn’t even top five

01/03/2025 05:46 AM

The Old Firm derby is the biggest rivalry in Britain – all others are miles off the intensity.

Manchester United travel to Liverpool on Sunday in what is often considered the most famous clash in Britain.

But according to talkSPORT host and former Aston Villa striker Gabby Agbonlahor, Celtic vs Rangers is the biggest and most bruising rivalry, while the north London derby doesn’t even make his top five list.

“Biggest derby is Rangers/Celtic,” he told talkSPORT back in April 2024. “It is on my bucket list to go and see. When you watch it on the TV, you can feel the adrenaline watching the game.

“You can feel the atmosphere from the fans, you can see the two teams dislike each other. That is a big, big derby. The biggest in Britain by a mile, for me.

“Some of the others… Manchester United vs Manchester City – not really for me.

“Manchester United/Liverpool – yes there is a rivalry but the players are shaking hands nowadays.”

No one can deny the rivalry between Rangers and Celtic, that has become deeply embedded in Scottish football culture.

Not for the first time, the rivalry turned ugly on Thursday as Celtic’s Arne Engels was hit with a coin thrown by a Rangers fan.

As the two biggest teams in the country with huge fanbases, the pair are often tussling it out for the league and cups, while they can not be separated.

And it should be no surprise that Villa icon Agbonlahor says the Birmingham derby is the biggest game in England.

“There is actual hatred between both fans,” he explained.

“We always knew we would beat Birmingham City and we knew how much it meant to the fans.

“Even if you had four or five bad games, you go and beat Birmingham City in the Premier League and it is sort of like, you are forgiven for them poor performances.

“Massive, massive derby. It gets very heated. You see the incident with Jack Grealish [attacked by a fan], you don’t really see that in English football. It just shows the hatred between both clubs.”

As well as Arsenal and Tottenham’s north London derby, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton and, bizarrely, the M63 derby between Crystal Palace and Brighton are other hotly contested games in England.

“Brighton-Crystal Palace? Isn’t there about 100 miles between them? When I see them, I don’t understand this,” Agbonlahor added.

“I feel like Everton Liverpool, you see Everton fans in the same end as Liverpool fans. That would never happen between Birmingham City and Aston Villa.”

But not a single one of them were ranked in Agbonlahor’s top five.

Gabby’s five biggest rivalries in Britain

1. Rangers vs Celtic (Old Firm derby)

“I think [the Old Firm derby] is my no.1 from watching it as a kid. The days of Henrik Larrson [at Celtic] and Brian Laudrup [at Rangers].

“There are obviously other things that I won’t go into detail about that game that makes it more aggressive.”

2. Aston Villa vs Birmingham City (Second City derby)

“People might say to me ‘oh it’s because he’s from Birmingham’ but when I watch these other derbies and I hear about them, they don’t compare to Birmingham/Villa.

“I’ve played in them, you feel that adrenaline, you feel that atmosphere.

“You’re on the coach to the game and you’re getting stones and rocks thrown at you and the players were hiding under the tables.”

3. Liverpool vs Manchester United (north west derby)

“I am probably going to go Manchester United vs Liverpool for number three because of its history.

“Liverpool winning so many leagues, United then taking over, similar amount of league titles.”

4. West Ham vs Millwall (Dockers derby)

“I will go with West Ham/Millwall for number four.

“That is a big derby, Millwall are renowned for having that fanbase, the firms. West Ham aren’t soft, either.”

5. Chelsea vs Tottenham (London derby)

“Finishing off, I’d say Spurs/Chelsea then. Not Spurs vs Arsenal.

“The reason why is that, to me, the north London derby doesn’t seem that big anymore.

“Spurs vs Chelsea looks bigger because of the Battle of the Bridge. But the players will still all be shaking hands.”