Burnley's predicted line-up as Jay Rodriguez and Manuel Benson pose selection dilemma for Blackburn Rovers derby

This version of the East Lancashire derby is the first of the Vincent Kompany and Jon Dahl Tomasson era after the two bosses joined their respective clubs in the summer.

The ex-Belgium international defender is well-versed in rivalries having featured 24 times in the Manchester derby for City against United.

The 36-year-old also featured for Anderlecht in “The Topper” against Club Brugge and “The Clasico” against Standard Liege.

Now, with the winner of this afternoon’s clash guaranteed top spot ahead of the break for the World Cup in Qatar, the October Manager of the Month recipient can’t wait to add to his portfolio.

“It’s been a feature since I joined the club, and has been a long time coming, but I think it’s good for the local area to see both clubs on top of the division even though there’s still a long way to go,” he said.

“It’s a good game to have now. We are where we are, both teams, for a reason. We’ll just focus on trying to do everything that we can to win the game on the day. My desire is for it to be a derby fans like to see, but we have got to play it first.

“Turf Moor has been a special place this season, it’s lived up to expectations. Normally it’s players who have responsibility to get a crowd going, but on derby day it’s a shared responsibility.

“You never have 95 minutes of just strolling through it, we know there are going to be ups and downs. When we are down, we need the fans to be there for us and then when we’re up, we’ll try to get the fans going as well.”

Here’s our predicted line-up for Burnley.