Portsmouth will host local rivals Southampton tonight and Jamie Redknapp has made a controversial claim about the South Coast derby when comparing it to Tottenham Hotspur v Arsenal & Liverpool v Everton.
Dani Ceballos of Arsenal and Danny Rose and Christian Eriksen of Tottenham Hotspur
Jamie Redknapp’s controversial claim that the South Coast derby is ‘more intimidating’ than either Liverpool v Everton or Tottenham v Arsenal has resulted in a mixed reaction from supporters.
Portsmouth will host Southampton in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night in what is a standout tie from the draw as Tottenham travel to Colchester, with Everton playing Sheffield Wednesday, Liverpool taking on MK Dons and Arsenal hoping to avoid an upset against Championship side Nottingham Forest.
Redknapp represented Tottenham and Liverpool during his career, including Southampton towards the end, whilst his dad managed both the Saints and Portsmouth, but he, as quoted by TalkSport, has made it clear what is more fierce.
Either way, some fans have agreed with Redknapp’s comments, as they feel the South Coast derby is a completely different kettle of fish altogether.
Whilst the North London derby and the Merseyside derby is played on a bigger stage – the Premier League – there are other local derbies in the country which do go under the radar and the South Coast clash seems to be one of them.
Of course, to every individual fan, their own derby is special, the most fierce and perhaps the best in their country, but England is blessed with a number of highly-charged local games.
For some, because they play in the same league, they do get a taste of it on a season basis, but for others, like Portsmouth and Southampton, they are meeting one another after some time.
Either way, the South Coast derby is set to be a brilliant event tonight, and one where Saints will be hoping their now League One rivals won’t get the better of them.
Here is a selection of supporters on Twitter reacting to Redknapp’s comments about the South Coast derby and comparing it to others such as the Merseyside and North London derby:
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