M69 derby explained

The M69 derby is a football match 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.

The M69 derby made its return during the 2023–24 season after an eleven year hiatus. The most recent meeting between the two clubs was a 2-1 home win for Coventry on 17 January 2026.^[1]

The Rise of the Derby

Coventry and Leicester's traditional rivals have historically been considered to be Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest respectively. However, the fixture became increasingly significant between 2001 and 2011 with both clubs' traditional rivals often being in a different league. According to a survey by The Football Pools published in 2008, this fixture is the 26th fiercest rivalry in English football.^[2]

In the 2011/12 season Coventry were relegated to League One meaning the M69 Derby would not take place for the first time in eight seasons. A period of turmoil followed for The Sky Blues under their controversial former owners, London based hedge fund SISU Capital as they left their home at the Coventry Building Society Arena twice to play home games in Northampton and Birmingham respectively as well as suffering a further relegation to League Two in 2017.^{[3] [4]}

Whilst Coventry struggled to even survive as a club, Leicester flourished and entered a golden period in their history. After winning promotion back to the Premier League in 2014, The Foxes shocked the entire footballing world by winning the 2015–16 Premier League and would go on to add another trophy to their collection after a 1-0 victory against Chelsea in the 2021 FA Cup final.^[5]

Coventry's defeat to Luton Town in the 2023 EFL Championship play-off final coupled with Leicester's relegation from the 2022–23 Premier League the very next day ensured that after an 11 year hiatus the M69 Derby would return in the 2023/24 season.^[6]

The two sides played each other on the opening weekend of the 2023–24 EFL Championship, Coventry had looked set for a first ever win at the King Power Stadium before two late goals from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall gave The Foxes a 2-1 win.^[7]

In January 2024 Coventry got their first win in the fixture since 2008 as they won a fiery encounter at The Coventry Building Society Arena. Two goals from Callum O'Hare either side of a Milan van Ewijk strike secured a comeback win after Dewsbury-Hall had put Leicester ahead.^[8]

The derby was not played in the 2024/25 season as Leicester won immediate promotion back to the Premier League under the stewardship of Enzo Maresca who led them to The Championship title, however it returned again in 2025/26 as The Foxes latest foray into the top flight lasted a solitary season and they were again relegated.^[9]

Crowd Trouble

The fixture between the two clubs has historically been marred by incidents of violence. In September 1984, a pitch invasion took place two minutes into a First Division game at Highfield Road. In October 2004, trouble broke out in Coventry with police officers pelted with missiles.^[10] In February 2008, up to 100 hooligans were involved in a brawl on a street nearby to the Coventry Building Society Arena.^[11] On 3 March 2012, supporters of both clubs clashed on a street in Leicester, with windows on a mini-bus allegedly smashed. During the 2023–24 season, offensive banners were displayed on the M69 motorway ahead of both fixtures.^[12]

Statistics

The first fixture between the two clubs was a Second Division game on 27 September 1919 which resulted in a 1–0 win for Leicester. The biggest victory resulted in an 8–1 Leicester victory in the League Cup at Highfield Road on 4 December 1964.

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.^[13]

Since moving to their current stadium in 2002, Leicester have never been defeated by Coventry. Coventry held the same record at the Coventry Building Society Arena from 2005 to 2011. Coventry were in the Premier League when they last won at Leicester on 7 April 2001.

	Coventry wins	Draws	Leicester wins
League	24	23	37
FA Cup	2	1	0
League Cup	0	0	1
Total	26	24	38

Game list (since 1984)

The most recent fixture resulted in a 2-1 Coventry win at the Coventry Building Society Arena on 17 January 2026.

Date	Competition	Stadium	Score	width=29%	Leicester scorers	width=29%	Coventry scorers	Attendance	Ref
17 Jan 2026	Championship	Coventry Building Society Arena	2–1	James	Simms, Wright		[14]
20 Sept 2025	Championship	King Power Stadium	0–0			30,857	[15]
Leicester relegated to Championship 2024–25
Leicester promoted to Premier League 2023–24
13 Jan 2024	Championship	Coventry Building Society Arena	3–1	Dewsbury-Hall (pen); (Fatawu sent off)	O'Hare (2), van Ewijk	29,914	[16]
6 Aug 2023	Championship	King Power Stadium	2–1	Dewsbury-Hall (2)	McFadzean	31,763	[17]
Leicester relegated to Championship 2022–23
Coventry promoted to Championship 2019–20
Coventry promoted to League One 2017–18
Coventry relegated to League Two 2016–17
Leicester promoted to Premier League 2013–14
Coventry relegated to League One 2011–12
3 Mar 2012	Championship	King Power Stadium	2–0	Nugent, Beckford; (Konchesky sent off)		25,487	[18]
6 Aug 2011	Championship	Ricoh Arena	0–1	Peltier		21,102	[19]
26 Feb 2011	Championship	Walkers Stadium	1–1	Naughton	King	25,356	[20]
11 Sept 2010	Championship	Ricoh Arena	1–1	King	Platt	20,060	[21]
21 Mar 2010		Walkers Stadium	2–2	King (2)	McPake, Deegan	23,093	[22]
3 Oct 2009	Championship	Ricoh Arena	1–1	Waghorn	Clingan	22,209	[23]
Leicester promoted to Championship 2008–09
Leicester relegated to League One 2007–08
23 Feb 2008	Championship	Ricoh Arena	2–0		Ward (pen), Best	23,129	[24]
12 Jan 2008	Championship	Walkers Stadium	2–0	Howard, Hayles		23,905	[25]
17 Feb 2007	Championship	Walkers Stadium	3–0	Horsfield (2), Johnson		25,816	[26]
18 Aug 2006	Championship	Ricoh Arena	0–0			20,261	[27]
17 Apr 2006	Championship	Ricoh Arena	1–1	Stearman (Kisnorbo sent off)	John	26,672	[28]
23 Oct 2005	Championship	Walkers Stadium	2–1	de Vries (2)	McSheffrey	22,991	[29]
8 Nov 2004	Championship	Walkers Stadium	3–0	Nalis, Tiatto, Heath		22,479	[30]
16 Oct 2004	Championship	Highfield Road	1–1	Dublin	Makin (og)	18,054	[31]
Leicester relegated to Championship 2003–04
Leicester promoted to Premier League 2002–03
22 Mar 2003	First Division	Highfield Road	1–2	McKinlay, Scowcroft	Jansen	16,610	[32]
29 Oct 2002	First Division	Walkers Stadium	2–1	Taggart, Deane; (Summerbee sent off)	Partridge	27,139	[33]
Leicester relegated to First Division 2001–02
Coventry relegated to First Division 2000–01
7 Apr 2001	Premier League	Filbert Street	1–3	Akinbiyi	Bellamy, Carsley, Hartson	19,545	[34]
10 Dec 2000	Premier League	Highfield Road	1–0		Bellamy	17,283	[35]
27 Nov 1999	Premier League	Highfield Road	0–1			22,021	[36]
11 Aug 1999	Premier League	Filbert Street	1–0	Izzet (pen)	(Burrows sent off)	19,196	[37]
24 Apr 1999	Premier League	Filbert Street	1–0	Marshall		20,224
23 Jan 1999	FA Cup	Filbert Street	0–3		Whelan, Froggatt, Telfer; (Boateng sent off)	21,207
28 Nov 1998	Premier League	Highfield Road	1–1	Heskey (Sinclair sent off)	Huckerby	19,894
4 Apr 1998	Premier League	Filbert Street	1–1	Wilson	Whelan	21,137
29 Nov 1997	Premier League	Highfield Road	0–2	Fenton, Elliott (pen)		18,309
8 Mar 1997	Premier League	Highfield Road	0–0			19,220
21 Dec 1996	Premier League	Filbert Street	0–2		Dublin (2)	20,038
Leicester promoted to Premier League 1995–96
Leicester relegated to First Division 1994–95
25 Feb 1995	Premier League	Highfield Road	4–2	Lowe, Roberts	Flynn (2), Marsh, Ndlovu	20,633
3 Oct 1994	Premier League	Filbert Street	2–2	Roberts (2)	Dublin, Wegerle	19,372
Leicester City promoted to Premier League 1993–94[38]
Leicester City relegated to Second Division 1986–87
4 May 1987	First Division	Filbert Street	1–1	Ramsey	Gynn	14,903
6 Dec 1986	First Division	Highfield Road	1–0	Regis		12,320
8 Mar 1986	First Division	Filbert Street	2–1	Smith, McAllister	Pickering	10,744
6 Oct 1985	First Division	Highfield Road	3–0	Gibson, Bowman, Regis		10,959
23 Dec 1985	First Division	Filbert Street	5–1	Lynex, Rennie, Lineker (2), Smith	Micky Gynn	18,016
1 Sept 1984	First Division	Highfield Road	2–0	Latchford, Bennett		13,510

Represented Both Clubs

Played for and managed Leicester, played for Coventry

See also

• Leicester City F.C.–Nottingham Forest F.C. rivalry
• Derby County F.C.–Leicester City F.C. rivalry

Notes and References

1. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/live/czdqyzjd1rdt
2. Web site: Rivalries League . www.footballpools.com . The New Football Pools . 2009-06-17 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20080305004509/http://www.footballpools.com/football-fever/rivalries-league.html . 2008-03-05 .
3. News: 2013-07-04 . Coventry City set to groundshare with Northampton Town . 2026-02-23 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
4. News: 2019-06-07 . Coventry City to groundshare with Birmingham City for 2019-20 season . 2026-02-23 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
5. News: 2021-05-14 . Chelsea 0-1 Leicester: Foxes lift FA Cup for first time after Youri Tielemans stunner . 2026-02-23 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
6. Web site: Turner . Andy . 2023-06-22 . Coventry City fixtures as Sky Blue Army handed opening day cracker at Leicester . 2026-02-23 . Coventry Live . en.
7. News: 2023-08-06 . Leicester City 2-1 Coventry - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores two late goals to snatch victory . 2026-02-23 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
8. News: 2024-01-13 . Coventry City 3-1 Leicester City - Callum O'Hare nets twice in Sky Blues win . 2026-02-23 . BBC Sport . en-GB.
9. Web site: Services . ESPN News . 2025-04-20 . Leicester relegated from Premier League after loss to Liverpool . 2026-02-23 . ESPN.com . en.
10. News: Police hit with missiles in city. BBC News. 2004-10-18. 2010-02-09. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000621/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/coventry_warwickshire/3754216.stm. live.
11. News: Eleven held in football violence. BBC Sport. 2008-02-24. 2008-10-25. 26 February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080226090603/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/coventry_warwickshire/7260710.stm. live.
12. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-67968056 bbc.co.uk
13. News: Head To Head: Coventry. LCFC.com. 2008-01-11. 2008-10-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20080417101812/http://www.lcfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/LatestNews/0%2C%2C10274~1212967%2C00.html. 17 April 2008. dead.
14. News: 17 January 2026 . Coventry City 2–1 Leicester City - Sky blues come from behind to win . 17 January 2026 . BBC Sport.
15. News: 20 September 2025 . Leicester City 0–0 Coventry City - Leicester held by Coventry in goalless M69 derby . 20 September 2025 . BBC Sport.
16. News: 13 Jan 2024 . Coventry City 3–1 Leicester City - Callum O'Hare nets twice in Sky Blues win . 13 Jan 2024 . BBC Sport.
17. News: Coventry 3–1 Leicester - Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall scores two late goals to snatch victory. BBC Sport. 6 Aug 2023. 6 Aug 2023.
18. News: Leicester 2–0 Coventry (2012). BBC Sport. 3 Mar 2012. 4 Mar 2012. 4 March 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120304204957/http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/17163085. live.
19. News: Coventry 0–1 Leicester. BBC Sport. 6 Aug 2011. 6 Aug 2011. 20 August 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110820190814/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/14352025.stm. live.
20. News: Leicester 1–1 Coventry (2011). BBC Sport. 26 Feb 2011. 27 Feb 2011. 28 February 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20110228063530/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/9404988.stm. live.
21. News: Coventry 1–1 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2010-09-11. 2010-09-12. 13 September 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100913051335/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8977694.stm. live.
22. News: Leicester 2–2 Coventry. BBC Sport. 2010-03-21. 2010-03-22. 22 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100322054303/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8571179.stm. live.
23. News: Coventry 1 – 1 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2009-10-03. 2009-10-03. 5 October 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20091005100335/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/8269761.stm. live.
24. News: Coventry 2–0 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2008-02-23. 2008-10-25. 25 February 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080225231402/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/7248330.stm. live.
25. News: Leicester 2–0 Coventry. BBC Sport. 2008-01-12. 2008-10-25. 15 January 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080115134446/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/7172833.stm. live.
26. News: Leicester 3–0 Coventry (2007). BBC Home. 2007-02-19. 2008-10-25. 21 February 2007. https://web.archive.org/web/20070221205910/http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2007/02/17/lcfc_coventry_home_17feb2007_result.shtml. dead.
27. News: Coventry 0–0 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2006-08-16. 2008-10-25. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304134939/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/4786387.stm. live.
28. News: Coventry 1–1 Leicester (2006). BBC Sport. 2006-04-17. 2008-10-25. 24 April 2006. https://web.archive.org/web/20060424045137/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/4906640.stm. live.
29. News: Leicester 2–1 Coventry (2005). BBC Sport. 2005-10-23. 2008-10-25. 23 October 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20051023061035/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/4344732.stm. live.
30. News: Leicester 3–0 Coventry (2004). BBC Sport. 2004-11-08. 2008-10-25. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305014552/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3988145.stm. live.
31. News: Coventry 1–1 Leicester (2004). BBC Sport. 2004-10-16. 2008-10-25. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305073424/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/3718484.stm. live.
32. News: Coventry 1–2 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2003-03-21. 2008-10-25. 10 January 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20140110134744/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/2852677.stm. live.
33. News: Leicester 2–1 Coventry (2002). 2002-10-29. 2008-10-25. BBC News. 8 April 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030408204731/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_div_1/2356601.stm. live.
34. News: Foxes out-fought by Sky Blues. BBC Sport. 2001-04-07. 2008-10-26. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305051340/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1264460.stm. live.
35. News: Clockwatch: Coventry 1–0 Leicester. BBC Sport. 2000-12-10. 2008-10-26. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305074326/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1064393.stm. live.
36. News: Heskey sinks Sky Blues. BBC Sport. 1999-11-27. 2008-10-26. 4 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304035935/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/football/fa_carling_premiership/539361.stm. live.
37. News: Head to head: Leicester v Coventry. BBC Sport. 2001-04-05. 2010-02-09. 5 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160305040200/http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1263228.stm. live.
38. The 22 clubs of the Football League First Division broke away to form the Premier League in 1992; with the remaining divisions of the Football League renumbered accordingly.