Ipswich and Norwich may not be geographically close – they are separated by 40 miles – but this is the big rivalry for them both.
According to The Football Rivalries Report 2008, it is the second most fierce rivalry in the country behind West Brom and Wolves.
The report revealed that 99 per cent of Ipswich and Norwich fans highlighted the other team as their big rivals.
A lack of professional clubs in the East Anglia region intensifies the hatred between the clubs’ fans.
Former referee Keith Hackett described the derby as the “most aggressive atmosphere” he ever encountered, saying: “There are certain derby fixtures that you always know are going to be highly charged, but the East Anglian derby tops the lot.
“The players came out of the tunnel as if they were ready for a boxing match. The noise was intense and aggressive.”
Speaking on EFL Rivalries: The East Anglian Derby, Eastern Daily Press journalist David Freezer said: “Norwich-Ipswich games are always big atmosphere but they’re not necessarily angry, vicious atmospheres because that isn’t generally what the people in Suffolk and Norfolk are like. We tend to be a bit more relaxed in East Anglia.”
The two clubs have faced each other on 142 occasions, with Ipswich winning 60 times compared to Norwich’s 56.
The East Anglia derby has been played 103 times at professional level.
Ipswich again come out on top, winning 43 games compared to the Canaries’ 40 victories.
But it is Norwich who have enjoyed the better of the derby games in recent years.
The Canaries are unbeaten in the last eight meetings between the two teams, with Ipswich’s last win coming in 2009.
Norwich famously beat Ipswich in the Championship play-off semi-finals in 2015 before earning promotion to the Premier League under then manager Alex Neil.