EFL match ball. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)EFL match ball. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
EFL match ball. (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

Revealed! The most fiercely contested derbies in English football - and where Preston vs Blackpool ranks

It’s been quite a while since Preston North End and Blackpool clashed in a West Lancashire derby.

The two historic clubs haven’t met since North End beat the Seasiders 1-0 in the League Cup eight years ago, and you have to go back to February 2010 for the last time that they faced off in the league.

That game ended in a stalemate at Deepdale, with another meeting earlier in the season also ending in a sharing of the spoils.

The derby has the distinction of being played across all four of the top tiers of English football at one time or another, although they are yet to meet in the Premier League since its inception in 1992.

With Blackpool currently mid-table in League One, it could still be a little while longer before the tensions are rekindled, but of course, this is a rivalry that stretches back way beyond the past decade or so.

The first official meeting between Preston and Blackpool came in 1901, with North End winning 4-1 that day.

In the years since, the sides have met on 95 other occasions, but who has had the better of the clashes, and how does it rank in terms of ferocity compared to some of the biggest rivalries in English football?

Paddy Power have ran the numbers, comparing win percentages from derby clashes between every Championship club and their most fierce foes to determine which clashes truly are the most competitive.

Click and scroll through the pages below to read our countdown...