Why this weekend's derby between Burnley and Blackburn will put even Hamas v Israel to shame

By David Anderson

Published 08:00 24/03/10

• 

Think of Hamas v Israel or the Real IRA v the SAS and you'll get some idea of what Sunday's East Lancs derby will be like.

Their clash at Ewood Park earlier this season was just the warm-up for what will be the real derby at Turf Moor.

Without sounding disrespectful to Burnley, who are a proud club with a great tradition, these kind of games are always more intense when the smaller side is at home.

Think of Merseyside derbies at Goodison Park, Manchester derbies at Eastlands or Manchester United-Leeds games at Elland Road and the atmosphere is always cranked up a few more degrees.

The police have wisely given the game a noon kick-off, which with the clocks going back will effectively make it an 11am start.

If they had their way, they would probably stage the game at 8am on Sunday on the moon to minimise the likelihood of trouble.

Despite the hostility of the fans, it promises to be a wonderful spectacle, something the Premier League has not witnessed in its 18-year history.

For Blackburn fans there is the dream scenario of beating Burnley to rubberstamp their survival and virtually condemn the Clarets to relegation.

As much as they would enjoy seeing their rivals suffer, privately a few of them at least must think it would be better for both clubs if Burnley stayed up.

What's the point of having a bitter rivalry if you rarely play each other and this will be Blackburn's first top-flight visit to Turf Moor in 34 years

Of course, no Rovers fan is going to admit that publicly and come high noon on Sunday, they will be screaming for the Clarets' claret.

Blackburn and Burnley fans: how much are you looking forward to this game? Let us know by leaving a comment below...

Fancy winning £3,000 for FREE this month? Play Mirror Football Streak for your chance to win cash prizes! Start predicting now!