Dale - Bury "9th Biggest Derby"

With the home fixture with Bury just over a week away, the derby fixture has been named as the 9th biggest derby in the Football League after someone's toured the UK researching football's biggest rivalries. And we don't mean Danny Dyer thankfully.

The report has been done by football journalist Andy Mitten who has wrote the book "Mad for it" having travelled the world to look at football's most famous rivalries.

As part of the publicity to his book's release, he's been asked to list the top ten derbies which take place in the Football League, sticking us in 9th position.

This is what he had to say about the Dale-Bury fixture:

This Lancashire derby is certainly unique for the surreal statistic that the last 30 matches have produced only three home wins. However, there is an explanation. So uninspiring are the attendance figures that either side attracts at home, the sense of occasion is always greater for the visiting team when they run out in enemy territory backed by nearly 50 per cent of the gate. Only eight miles separate the two towns and it’s fair to say the natives of each never take too kindly when it’s their turn to be invaded.

The top ten that he listed were:

1. Swansea v Cardiff
2. Derby County v Notts Forest
3. Sheffield Weds v Sheffield Utd
4. Blackpool v Preston NE
5. Norwich v Ipswich
6. Lincoln v Grimsby
7. Wolves v Birmingham
8. Southend v Colchester
9. Dale v Bury
10. Huddersfield v Leeds

What to read next: