Football matches held between Derby County F.C. and Nottingham Forest F.C. are often referred to as an 'East Midlands Derby' and are the focus of a lengthy and intense rivalry. According to an unofficial survey on 'football rivalries' the 'East Midlands Derby' is the sixth fiercest rivalry in English football, with 9 out of 10 fans from the two clubs naming the other as their "fiercest rival".^[1]

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2011) This article appears to be slanted towards recent events. (September 2016)

Since 2007, the winning team of a Derby vs Forest match has been awarded the Brian Clough Trophy, in memory of Brian Clough, who managed both clubs during his long and successful football career. The inaugural match for the trophy was held at Derby's Pride Park Stadium on 31 July 2007, in which the host team won 2–0. Forest are the current holders, having retained the trophy after a 2–1 win at Nottingham's City Ground on 22 January 2022. Since the inauguration of the Brian Clough Trophy, fans from both sides have nicknamed the fixture El Cloughico, in reference to the El Clásico rivalry between Spanish football teams FC Barcelona and Real Madrid CF.^[2]

The fixture is seen as one of the biggest rivalries in English football, spanning back over 100 years. Hooliganism and violence is a common occurrence at the fixture.

The first meeting of Derby County and Nottingham Forest came in the 1892–93 First Division. Derby, founder members of the Football League in 1888, had finished in 10th place in the previous campaign, whereas Forest had been competing in the rival Football Alliance, and had won the title in the competition's final year. Following the absorption of the Alliance by the Football League in 1892, Forest were invited to join the newly expanded Football League First Division due to being one of the alliance's three strongest clubs. The first competitive fixture between the two teams was duly held on 1 October 1892 at the Racecourse Ground in the Football League Division One, which Nottingham Forest won 3–2. The return fixture in January 1893 also ended in victory for Nottingham Forest, this time 1–0. It was not until the 1894–95 season that Derby secured a first win over their future rivals, coming out on top 4–2 in September 1894.

Although the clubs are rivals because of their geographical proximity, the rivalry intensified towards the late 1970s when Brian Clough was appointed Forest manager, much to the dismay of the Derby support – in fact Duncan Hamilton, writing in The Times, has remarked that the rivalry is as much about which club owns Clough's heart as about the proximity of the clubs geographically.^[3]

On 2 November 2008, referee Stuart Attwell became the centre of attention when he disallowed two Derby goals in the final few minutes and booked eight players and issued a straight red card to Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan.^[4] Derby boss Paul Jewell was especially vocal in his dismay at Attwell's performance, accusing the 25-year-old official of 'losing control' of the game and 'robbing' the Rams of a victory.^[5] The press furore around his display^[6] led to Attwell being called in for a meeting with Referee's Chief Keith Hackett^[7] and he was consequently axed from the following week's fixture list.^[8] Days after the game, Jewell said that a member of the Football Association had contacted him and told him that the second goal should have stood.^[9]

Animosity between the clubs grew even further with the appointment of former Derby manager Billy Davies at Forest in December 2009, along with the signing of several former Derby players in Lee Camp, Robert Earnshaw and Dexter Blackstock, and the appointment of Nigel Clough as Derby manager, along with the signing of former Forest favourite Kris Commons at Pride Park. Two fractious FA Cup ties, including one in which Derby came from 2–0 down to win 3–2 and win at the City Ground for the first time since 1971, did not help matters and Robbie Savage's post-match scarf waving did not endear him to the Forest support.^{[citation needed]} Following a match on 29 August 2009, in which Forest won 3–2 to secure their first victory over Derby in 61⁄2 years, a post-match scuffle broke out between the Derby and Forest players after Nathan Tyson, in reaction to Savage's scarf waving the previous season, celebrated in front of the Derby County fans with a corner flag that had the Nottingham Forest logo on it, an incident the FA said it would investigate with some 'urgency'^[10] the result of which saw both clubs fined for failing to control their players and Tyson charged with improper conduct.^[11] Derby were fined £20,000, of which £10,000 was suspended, and ordered to pay £400 costs; Nottingham Forest were fined £25,000, of which £10,000 was suspended, and ordered to pay £1,200 costs; and Tyson was fined £5,000.^[12] A second brawl broke out during the return fixture in January 2010 after Chris Gunter and Jay McEveley clashed when the latter refused to give up the ball for a Forest throw-in. The FA announced it would investigate the brawl^[13] whilst former Derby manager Billy Davies claimed that Nigel Clough had "attacked" him during the melee and made a formal complaint to the League Managers' Association.^[14] The fixture also saw players sent off in four consecutive meetings from January 2011; two for Derby (Dean Moxey and Frank Fielding) and two for Forest (Marcus Tudgay and Dexter Blackstock, both former Derby players).

In the 2011–12 season, Derby claimed a first league double in the fixture since 1972 on their way to winning the League title. At the City Ground meeting, Derby recovered from being a man and goal down after five minutes, to winning 2–1 at the City Ground before Jake Buxton's stoppage timer own goal earned a 1–0 loss in the second match. Derby's success in the fixture continued into the 2012–13 season with yet another City Ground victory, their fourth in six trips to the stadium.^[15] Both teams claimed a home victory in the 2013–14 season: Forest won 1–0 at the City Ground in September,^[16] but Derby then won 5–0 at Pride Park in March 2014, equalling the record margin of victory in the fixture's history.^[17] The next meeting ended in a 1–1 draw at the City Ground in September 2014,^[18] followed by a 2–1 victory for Nottingham Forest at Pride Park in January 2015.^[19] In March 2017, the match held at the City Ground was drawn 2–2,^[20] with Derby winning 2–0 at Pride Park in October.^[21] Having spent thirteen years together in the EFL Championship, at the end of the 2021-22 season Forest were promoted to the Premier League while Derby were relegated to EFL League One.^[22]

Last updated on 22 January 2022.

As of 30 August 2023

The following list of honours contains only major trophies.

Since World War II, some 30 players have played for both clubs, the majority of these moves coming in the 1970s and 1980s. The most famous individual to have represented both clubs, however, is unquestionably the man regarded as the greatest manager in the history of both: Brian Clough.

The following records are based solely on meetings between Derby County and Nottingham Forest in major competitions:

• The record home victory in a league match is 5–0, recorded by Derby County at the Baseball Ground on 11 April 1898 and at Pride Park on 22 March 2014.
• The record away victory in a league match is 6–2, recorded by Nottingham Forest at the Baseball Ground on 14 November 1903.
• The highest-scoring match saw eight goals when Forest won 6–2 at the Baseball Ground on 14 November 1903.
• Steve Bloomer of Derby County holds the record for the most East Midlands Derby goals, scoring 26 goals between 1892 and 1912.
• The most consecutive victories is five: Nottingham Forest won five successive matches from 7 November 1953 to 29 November 1969.
• The record attendance is 62,017 at Crystal Palace for the 1897–98 FA Cup Final on 16 April 1898, a match which Forest won 3–1.
• The record Football League attendance is 42,074 at Nottingham's City Ground on 14 March 1970, a match which Derby won 3–1.
• The lowest attendance is an estimated 3,000 at the Baseball Ground on 20 April 1899, a match which Derby won 2–0.
• The most consecutive games without scoring is five: Derby County failed to score in five successive matches from 11 March 2018 to 9 November 2019.

There have been 16 seasons in which both league matches between Nottingham Forest and Derby County have been won by the same team, with Forest completing nine doubles, to Derby's seven.

In 2007, it was decided that whenever the two teams played in the league or in a cup tie the Brian Clough Trophy, in memory of the man who had great success at both clubs, would be awarded to the winner. The inaugural match was held at Pride Park on 31 July 2007 which Derby won 2–0. Forest's first trophy victory came after a 3–2 victory at the City Ground in August 2009. Nottingham Forest are the current holders following a 1–0 Football League Championship victory at the City Ground in November 2019.

On 23 January 2009, the day of a Football League Championship (second tier) match at Pride Park Stadium, watched by more than 32,000 fans,^[24] fans of two teams clashed at the Florence Nightingale public house in Derby, with Forest fans throwing two sheep's heads at Derbyshire pubs.^[25] On 29 March 2010, six Forest fans and six Derby fans were found guilty at Derby Crown Court of offences linked to the incident. The ring leader of the fracas was 49-year-old Alvaston man Ian Innes, a Derby fan who led the attack on Forest fans in the pub; he received a 20-month prison sentence and a 10-year ban from all football matches in England and Wales.^[26] His 25-year-old son Stephen was also convicted of taking part in the attack and received a one-year prison sentence along with a six-year nationwide banning order. The trial judge condemned Ian Innes as a "thorough and utter disgrace".^[27] In a fixture between the two teams in September 2012, 13 people were arrested, though the match itself passed without any serious incident.^[28]