These two clubs won four of the first five A-League titles and met twice in the grand final in 10 seasons. They once pulled a crowd of more than 50,000 to Etihad Stadium for an ordinary league game, the largest crowd recorded for an Australian domestic soccer league match. And, of course, when the FFA was looking to launch the new league in the winter of 2005, it was only natural that the showcase Sunday game that first weekend featured Sydney hosting Victory, a game that attracted more than 25,000 with the Sydney Football Stadium operators having to throw the gates open close to kick-off time, so much larger was the crowd than authorities had anticipated. Yet in recent years the fixture does not seem so exciting, vibrant or compelling as new rivalries grow and enmities develop and storylines involving other clubs are composed that are just as riveting as those thrown up by the Victory v Sydney narrative. The creation of Sydney and Melbourne derbies has a lot to do with it, of course. There is nothing so visceral as the inter-city rivalry between two big, powerful and ambitious clubs.

OK, Sydney FC v Western Sydney Wanderers, Victory v Melbourne City has not quite got the flavour of the Clasico in Spain between Barcelona and Real Madrid, or the Buenos Aires shootout between Boca Juniors and River Plate, not to mention the ancient grudges borne fat every time Liverpool and Everton, Celtic and Rangers, Tottenham and Arsenal and the Manchester duo, City and United, face off in a battle for local supremacy. But the Australian derbies are getting there and are certainly now the must-go games on each team's calendar. Still, there is no doubt that Sydney v Melbourne Victory is still an attractive proposition and that its history is developing. And there have been some humdingers along the way. In the first season of the competition - one in which Sydney ended as champions and Victory the lowest-ranked Australian club, failing to make the finals in an eight-team league - Victory nonetheless enjoyed their finest hour of a disappointing season against Sydney.

It's a long time ago, but a Victory team in which current coach Kevin Muscat was a player and veteran frontman Archie Thompson the star striker, demolished the Sky Blues 5-0 in front of a deliriously happy Olympic Park crowd. That was only eight weeks into football's brave new world, and that performance and result went a long way to cementing Victory's popularity with its nascent fan base and conferring credibility on the game and the league in the Victorian capital. Thompson's solo goal, when he treated the entire Sydney rearguard as witches' hats before finishing past Clint Bolton, remains an enduring memory for any who saw it live or watched on replay. That record gate of 50,333 (achieved in October 2006) has yet to be topped, but routinely this fixture, at least when played at Etihad Stadium, draws more than 30,000. Or at least it used to. The last game between these two sides - on Australia Day this year - attracted 30,493, but that was the only time more than 30,000 attended since 2011. In the opening round of the 2011-12 campaign, 40,000 turned up to a match featuring Harry Kewell playing for Victory and his Socceroo teammate Brett Emerton turning out for Sydney. Such was the interest in that match that the duo were excused national-team duty that weekend to make their debuts for their new clubs. Crowds in Sydney have not been anywhere near as good as in Melbourne, although that is a trend that is often mirrored in many sports.

The best Sydney gate for a "Big Blue" clash was in 2009 when 25,407 showed up to see the Sky Blues see off the Dark Blues 2-0, with goals from Karol Kisel and current Brisbane Roar coach and ex-Socceroo star John Aloisi. Contrast that with the Sydney derby, which truly engages the often-dismissive Sydney sporting audience. Fans flock to see Graham Arnold's side take on Western Sydney Wanderers, either at Pirtek or at the Allianz Stadium, selling out the respective venues regularly. Some have argued that the "Big Blue" rivalry is a bit contrived and that the sparring between the two cities, so prevalent over everything from sport to politics to finance to culture to house prices, was much more prevalent in the post-war years to the turn of the century, but much less of an issue now. Certainly as someone who has covered virtually every Victory game in its A-League history, the Melbourne derby now seems a much bigger occasion than the Sydney game. I would argue that the atmosphere generated by the Victory v Adelaide games is often much more intense, particularly at Hindmarsh Stadium, than is the buzz at the Victory v Sydney clashes.

Victory fans like nothing better than travelling to South Australia to lord it over the locals, while the South Australians love nothing better than sticking it to the Vics. The fan rivalry between Victory and Sydney rarely seems to get to that level. Perhaps the proximity of so many pubs in the vicinity of Hindmarsh and Adelaide's ground being a smaller, more traditional venue, adds to the atmosphere! Still, if it's goals you are after you could do a lot worse than get along to AAMI Park. In the 32 meetings these clubs have had during the regular season, on 10 occasions they have produced five or more goals – including once earlier this season, when Victory won 4-2 in Sydney. Only five times has the game been scoreless. Even in finals, where things are usually much tighter, this fixture produces goals. Victory won the last grand final 3-0, while Sydney won theirs on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Only in last season's grand final did one team fail to score in the five times the pair have clashed in finals.