‘It’s a fan-driven rivalry going back generations’published at 19:29 BST
19:29 BST
Chelsea v Tottenham (20:15 BST)
Author Mark Meehan, who has written books about Chelsea, on why the two sides hate each other: “It’s a fan-driven rivalry going back generations and needle has built between fans, rather than being based on geography, like Arsenal versus Spurs.”
He added: “It goes back as far as 1910 when Spurs relegated us. The rivalry escalated in the 1967 final because two former Chelsea players, Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, helped Tottenham win the cup.
“However, it intensified in 1975 when Eddie McCreadie, who had played for the club in the 1960s and early 1970s, was put in charge. He wanted to show he was as brave off the pitch as on it. He gave the captaincy to a young Ray Wilkins. But sadly, it all ended in relegation, with Spurs playing their part again.
“On the day of fan violence, Spurs won 2-0 a week before the end of the season, and Chelsea would be relegated again. It intensified the rivalry between supporters.
“In more recent times, Chelsea began getting the better of the rivalry to the point I got credited with calling their stadium ‘Three Point Lane’ in the Chelsea Independent fanzine, though I must admit I don’t remember ever doing that.”