1. West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers

Albion's Hawthorns ground is just four miles away from Villa Park, and just a shade over five miles from St Andrews, but fans insist their biggest rivalry is with Wolves, whose Molineux home is 12 miles away.

Three quarters of Baggies fans reckon the Wolves rivalry is bigger than that with Villa or Birmingham City, and 97 per cent of Wolves fans agree.

It's a Black Country clash that has been helped by the fact the two sides have evenly-matched records and evenly-matched histories.

In 154 League and Cup games since 1886, Albion have won 61, Wolves 52 and there have been 41 draws. Both teams have averaged around 1.5 goals per game, and both have won 46 per cent of the matches played on their own grounds.

Wolves' heyday was the 1950s, when the side containing the likes of Billy Wright and Ron Flowers won the League Championship three times. They ended that era with an FA Cup win in 1960 (minus Billy Wright), and missed out on a League and Cup double by just one point. They also won the League Cup in 1974 and 1980, and were UEFA Cup runners-up in 1972.

Albion's sole League title came in 1920, but they have five FA Cup wins under their belt - the last in 1968 - and last competed in the UEFA Cup in 1982. They have also spent three seasons in the Premier League, compared to one by Wolves.

Last season was a memorable one. The Baggies won the first Championship match 3-0 at the Hawthorrns, while Wolves won the return 1-0 in March. In between, the sides met in the fourth round of the FA Cup, with Albion winning easily, 3-0 at Molineux.

The rivals met again in the play-off semi-finals, with West Brom winning the first leg 3-2 at Molineux. Kevin Phillips, scorer of two of Albion's goals that day, also netted the only goal in the second leg. Unfortunately for Baggies fans, Derby's Stephen Pearson scored the only goal in the Wembley finals, to restore the Rams' Premiership status.

For both sets of fans, there's a strong sense of "sleeping giants". Despite Wolves' cash injection from Sir Jack Hayward in the 1990s, real success has eluded them. The club is regularly in the Championship play-offs, or on the fringes of, but that one season in the Premiership is all they have to show for it.

Wolves' fans disappointment won't have been helped by seeing Albion gain promotion twice, although each time they've struggled to hang onto that lofty status. The Baggies have the upper hand again this term, but only time will tell whether they sustain it.

2. Ipswich Town and Norwich City

East Anglia wouldn't be regarded as one of English football's hotbeds, but there is no doubting the fierce and long-standing rivalry between its two biggest clubs, Suffolk's Ipswich Town and Norfolk's Norwich City. In fact, according to our survey it's the most reciprocated rivalry in the English game, with 99 per cent of fans from both clubs naming it.

The gap of 40 miles doesn't make those East Anglia 'Old Farm' derbies any less intense, and this, combined with the regularity and closeness of the games, and the recent fortunes of both clubs, put it ahead of all but one rivalry in League football.

Over the last 16 seasons, Town and City have been in the same division in 13 of them, and those 25 encounters (including this season's 2-2 at Carrow Road) have brought 11 wins for Norwich, nine for Ipswich and five draws. Only three times over that period has one team won both matches: Norwich in 2003-04 and 1994-95, and Ipswich in 1992-93.

The last clash was the 2-2 draw at Carrow Road back in November, when the Canaries came from 2-0 down at half-time to grab a point, thanks to Jamie Cureton's chip after a knock-on by John Hartson. The tension overspilled late in the game, when Norwich's Darren Huckerby was red carded for a high-footed tackle on Jonathan Walters.

It seems supporters elsewhere in the world are aware of the intense rivalry that exists between the clubs. During a UEFA Cup tie at Portman Road some years ago, fans from Helsingborg in Sweden chanted "Stand up if you hate Norwich" - much to the delight of the home crowd.

The rivalry, however, goes much deeper than football. The fact Norwich has city status and Ipswich doesn't is a long-standing issue that generates fierce debate in Suffolk. Also, many in Ipswich would prefer the town to be more closely associated with the metropolitan feel of London than the quiet, rural traditions of East Anglia.

3. Liverpool and Manchester United

Despite both having traditional same-city rivals, it is clear that fans of Liverpool and Manchester United now regard their own rivalry as being greater than the rivalries they have with Everton and Manchester City respectively.

Almost nine out of ten Liverpool fans, and two thirds of United supporters, put this rivalry ahead of any other they have.

Again, there is a strong cultural dimension. The rivalry between clubs and supporters is mirrored by those between the two working class cities themselves, with Manchester's resurgence as England's "second city" arguably surpassing Liverpool's industrial and maritime heritage. Whether in music, the arts or in sport, the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester is intense and very real.

No wonder, then, that more than half of the fans of both clubs say their rivalry goes much deeper than football.

Wherever you look, there are rivalries to be debated. Who was the greatest manager: Busby or Shankly, Paisley or Ferguson? The greatest player: Best or Keegan, Charlton or Hunt? The most passionate supporters: those on the Kop or those in the Stretford End?

Liverpool have won a record 18 League titles, versus 16 by Manchester United, but they have never won the Premier League. The fact United have won it nine times is one of the key reasons this rivalry has overtaken that with Everton in the minds of Liverpool fans, even though Liverpool have five European Cup wins to United's two.

United did the 'double' over Liverpool in the Premiership last season (O'Shea's last-minute winner at Anfield being the most memorable moment), and Carlos Tevez's first-half goal was enough to make it three out of three when the teams met at Anfield in December.

One of the most memorable games of recent years was the FA Cup 5th round clash in 1999 at Old Trafford. Michael Owen gave Liverpool an early first half lead, but Dwight Yorke equalised with two minutes left and then Ole Gunnar Solksjaer won it for United in injury time.

A few brave souls have turned out for both clubs over the years. Most fans will remember Peter Beardsley's time at Anfield, but he also had a brief and unsuccessful spell at Old Trafford. Paul Ince won a sack of trophies with United before joining Liverpool, via Inter Milan, in 1997, and back in the 1960s striker Phil Chisnall joined Liverpool from United.

But probably the most famous United name to wear a Liverpool shirt was Sir Matt Busby, who was the Anfield club's captain prior to the Second World War, and became manager at Old Trafford in 1945. So perhaps United fans owe Liverpool a very big 'thank you'!

4. Portsmouth and Southampton

Twenty miles apart, but the strength of feeling between the two sets of supporters runs so deep you would think the respective stadia were just 20 feet apart.

The rivalry is deep and heart-felt, and in our survey more than half the fans of both clubs said the rivalry went much deeper than football.

Perhaps it's something to do with their sea-faring traditions. While Portsmouth has long been seen as the 'home' of the Royal Navy, Southampton has been a major port for the Merchant Navy. Punch-ups on the poop deck, perhaps?

Pompey fans believe their club has had more success, rising through football's ranks, while the Saints faithful reckon they are the south coast's 'big' club.

Locals suggest 1976 was a watershed. Both clubs started the 1975-76 season in Division Two, but by the end of that season Saints had stunned Manchester United in the FA Cup Final at Wembley - the only major trophy success in their history - and Pompey had been relegated to football's third tier for the first time in 1962. And, to make matters worse, Southampton's Cup Final hero, Bobby Stokes, was born and bred in…yep, you guessed it, Portsmouth.

Post-War, the clubs have met 35 times in all competitions, with Southampton winning 19 times and Pompey just eight, but in the last meeting - in the Premiership in April 2005 - Portsmouth won 4-1 at Fratton Park as the Saints slid towards relegation. They have also met four times in the FA Cup since 1905, with Saints victorious on all four occasions.

But undoubtedly the biggest headlines involving the two clubs in recent times concern one man: Harry Redknapp. He joined Pompey in 2002 and took them into the Premiership in his first full season in charge, only to resign in 2004 and then turn up, weeks later, as boss of Southampton. His tenure at the Saints included that 4-1 defeat at Portsmouth, but a year after arriving at St Mary's Stadium he quit and returned to Fratton Park.

You couldn't have written a better Hollywood script if you'd tried!

5. Cardiff City and Swansea City

Considering it's more than eight years since they last met in any competition, the rivalry between Cardiff and Swansea is stronger than most in League football. Had they met more often, and hadn't a fifth of Cardiff fans cited Bristol City as key rivals, these two adversaries would undoubtedly be higher up our league table.

The two cities are next-door neighbours in South Wales, and the rivalry is deeply embedded both culturally and in sporting terms.

In April 2006, former Cardiff chairman Sam Hammam criticised some of the Swansea players when they paraded an anti-Cardiff banner around the Millennium Stadium after Swansea's defeat of the Bluebirds in the Football League Trophy Final. It was a defiant gesture that was always going to stoke up local passions.

Cardiff have won just two of the last 10 meetings between the two clubs, and since their first meeting in 1929 Swansea have the better record between the rivals, winning 23 of the 57 games, with Cardiff notching up 19 wins.

Probably the greatest game between them was played on 27th December 1980, a Second Division clash at Cardiff's old Ninian Park ground. With just a few minutes left, the home side were 3-2 down, but won a free kick some 35 yards from goal. John Buchanan's right-foot drive flew into the top corner and the game was saved.

Swans fans will point to a game at the Vetch Field in November 1998 as possibly their best-ever derby. Cardiff dominated the first half and led 1-0 at the interval, but Martin Thomas equalised and then defender Matthew Bound scored a last-minute winner.