Rivals and derbies

A club can have up to two fierce rivals. A match against them is a derby: it is tagged in the fixtures, and the hosts get a little more support from the stands.

Where rivals come from

Reason	When it appears
Local derby	Clubs from the same city. Holds from day one
The fight at the top of the table	Both clubs in the top three of the same table three seasons in a row
Many seasons in one league	Eight seasons in one league, that is two game years

Everything but the city has to grow out of history: in a league of ten everybody plays everybody anyway.

How strong a rivalry is

Every pair has a strength from 0 to 100:

• the reason: the city gives 50, the fight at the top 40, a shared history 30;
• both clubs in the same league now give +20, in the same division +10;
• every season together gives +2, up to 30.

A club has at most two rivals, the strongest pairs going first. Otherwise a big city with a dozen clubs would have a derby every match.

Rivals are worked out again every off-season, after promotion and relegation. A rivalry can fade when the clubs drift apart, while a derby that was played stays a derby in the history.

What a derby brings

• A Derby tag in the fixtures, on the overview and on the match page.
• The hosts get +3% on top of their home advantage: +15% expected goals instead of the usual +12%. See How a match is played.

Where to see them

On the club page: the reason for the rivalry, all the wins, draws and losses between the clubs and the last five matches.