M69 derby

The M69 Derby is a term used to describe football matches played between Coventry City and Leicester City. It takes its name from the motorway that connects the two cities, which are only 24 miles (38 km) apart.

Although neither side is the other club's traditional 'arch rival', with Aston Villa considered Coventry's traditional rival and Nottingham Forest as Leicester's, the fixture has become increasingly significant in recent years with both clubs' traditional rivals often being in different leagues, and the disillusionment of some Coventry and Leicester fans with their traditional rivalries, which were becoming increasingly one-sided. According to a survey by The Football Pools published in 2008, this fixture is the 26th fiercest rivalry in English football.^[2]

The derby has on occasion been marred by violence, the most recent in February 2008.^[3] Prior to that, another took place in Coventry in October 2004 where police officers were pelted with missiles.^[4]

Statistics

The first fixture between the two clubs was a Second Division game on 27 September 1919 and resulted in a 1–0 win for Leicester. The biggest victory resulted in an 8–1 to Leicester in the League Cup at Highfield Road on 4 December 1964.^[1] Coventry have been heavily beaten on two other occasions at Filbert Street, with both matches ending in a 5–1 win for Leicester. The first was in 1924–25, when Arthur Chandler scored a hat-trick, and in 1984–85, when Gary Lineker scored a brace.^[1]

Both teams were undefeated against each other on their current home turfs. This ended for Coventry when Leicester won 1-0 at the Ricoh Arena on 6 August 2011.^[5]

Game list

The most recent game resulted in a 1–0 win for Leicester at the Ricoh Arena. Note that the table shows matches from the 1984–85 season onwards.

      Coventry City win       Leicester City win       Draw

References

See also

• Leicester City and Nottingham Forest rivalry