Football local derbies are always a bit special and there are three in England this weekend, featuring clubs of contrasting sizes and fortunes. Two are in the Premier League -- West Ham v Tottenham and Bournemouth v Southampton -- but perhaps the most intriguing is the League Two clash in Gloucestershire, the heart of rugby playing country.
It is understandable that many fans would not be that familiar with Forest Green Rovers or Cheltenham Town, located 30 km apart in the Cotswolds.
Cheltenham did well to spend four seasons in League One from 2006-10, but went back to League Two and were relegated to what was then the Conference in 2015, but the Robins swiftly returned to League Two in the following year.
Forest Green are newcomers to the Football League, having won promotion from the National League (Conference) in 2017 and they are unique in many ways. The club is based in Nailsworth, which is the smallest town in England to support a Football League team, its population being only 5,800. They play at the quaintly named New Lawn stadium with a capacity of just over 5,000. If they fill the stadium there's hardly anybody left in the town.
Known to locals as "the little club up on the hill" Forest Green became the world's first vegan football club, inspired by owner Dale Vince. Cheltenham are their biggest rivals and the locals wryly dub their meetings as "El Glosico". The rivalry is quite intense and there have been skirmishes between fans in the past.
In 2010, Forest Green were in desperate financial trouble and on the brink of folding. They were rescued by Vince, a "green energy" industrialist and founder of a successful electricity company "Ecotricity" which uses wind and solar power.
In addition to making the club financially sound, Vince introduced his vegan philosophy to the club. From 2011 the players were banned from eating red meat and on match days only vegetarian food is available for spectators, formerly more familiar with a meat pie or hot-dog at half-time. However after a while they seemed to appreciate the veggie burgers. The club also changed their colours to lime green with black hoops to emphasize the "greenness" of the club, nicknamed The Green.
Forest Green's aim last season was simply to survive in League Two and this they managed, although it was a bit too close for comfort and for much of the season relegation beckoned. They eventually finished in 21st place, just one point above the drop zone. But it was "mission accomplished".
This season has been quite different, although they have a rather odd record. Until last week, when they lost to Northampton Town, they had been the only unbeaten club in the Football League (not including the three front-runners in the Premier League). After 13 matches they have won four, drawn eight and lost one and sit in a healthy eighth place. But all those draws may come back to haunt them.
When Bournemouth finally made it to the top flight in 2015, their matches against south coast neighbours Southampton were dubbed the most laid back football derbies in the Premier League. On match days fans shared train carriages and buses going to the game, with plenty of banter but little trouble. The reason for this relatively relaxed state of affairs was that in recent times the two teams had rarely played each other, so there wasn't much history of aggravation. They had briefly met in the 2011 season in League One in which Southampton triumphed in both games on their way to promotion.
The only time the teams had met in a league setup was in the third tier many years ago. Before their recent success, Bournemouth had spent most of the time in the old Third Division. On the other hand, Southampton have been primarily in the top division or second tier.
Fans in Britain probably still associate Bournemouth with its sandy beaches rather than the football team. But times are changing and under the guidance of manager Eddie Howe the Cherries are beginning to establish themselves in the top flight. When the teams met in their first Premier League derby at St Mary's three years ago, Southampton won comfortably 2-0, prompting their supporters to chant cheekily "You'll never play here again." They were proved wrong. The current league table sees Bournemouth in a handy sixth place, while Southampton, under Mark Hughes, are struggling in 16th.
Bournemouth's recent success has made the rivalry more passionate than before, and the Saints won't be relishing the prospect of visiting the tiny Dean Court stadium with a capacity of just over 11,000.
The "biggest" derby this weekend will be at the London Stadium where erratic West Ham in 15th place take on Tottenham Hotspur in fifth spot. Hopefully it will match last season's thrilling encounter which ended 3-2 for Spurs. It will be the 210th meeting between the two clubs, with Spurs having won 94, West Ham 63 and 52 draws.
Although it doesn't quite reach the intensity of the Tottenham-Arsenal clashes, there is still a fierce traditional East and North London rivalry and it is an important game for both sides. Spurs have clearly missed the injured Christian Erikssen in midfield and know they will be in for a real scrap.
It is probably fair to say that the results in these derbies won't exactly shake the football world, but for fans of the six clubs involved it is a huge weekend which will end in cheers or tears and maybe a few beers.