Wellington Phoenix say they are the people's club against the big end of town ahead of their inaugural "Kiwi clasico" with Auckland FC.
New Zealand's two A-League Men clubs square off for the first time on Saturday, following the Black Knights' entry into the league this season.
It's a table-topping affair, with Steve Corica's Auckland winning both their games to date, and the Phoenix second with four points.
Corica, no stranger to intense rivalries through his long association as a player and coach with Sydney FC, told AAP he expected similar to his clashes with Western Sydney.
"They're something special. I'm sure this will be very similar," he told AAP.
"It's going to be big. Everyone loves the big derby. I think that's going to be a real rivalry.
"They had a really good season last year, probably their best season ever, and Chief's done a really good job with the team that he had."
While Auckland FC have offered respect to their southerly rivals, Wellington are stoking the flames.
Before last week's kick-off, a pilot flew over Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium with a banner reading "NZ Is Yellow - See You Next Week!"
In an open letter to fans this week, Phoenix chief executive David Dome called their rivals "noisy neighbours" and "Auckland 3.0", in a reference to two prior failed Auckland-based clubs.
Wellington coach Giancarlo Italiano said that after 17 years, his club had put down genuine roots.
"Our club, it is the people's club," he said.
"Wellington (is) a very small demographic and for a long time it was basically the torch-bearer for all of football in New Zealand.
"So (Wellington) has a lot of fans across New Zealand, and a lot in Auckland as well."
Dome also used the off-season transfer of star goalkeeper Alex Paulsen and the personal wealth of Auckland FC backer Bill Foley to rally Wellingtonians to the cause.
"Our noisy neighbours, with their billionaire American owner, want to buy their way to an A-League title," Dome said.
"They've used their millions to lure Alex Paulsen away from us and I'm sure it'll just be the start, but it takes much more than money to be successful."
Foley - revealed by AAP this month as a backer of Donald Trump in this year's election - has bankrolled the team, creating a squad that many believe will challenge for the title.
Italiano said Kiwis may not warm to the cheque-book approach, saying "the biggest part of any football club is the identity it has, its affinity to its local community".
"For me, the Auckland club should be about Auckland players and that whole ecosystem," he said.
"But if you're wanting to win the league from day one, and you move away from (the community model) the only thing that you're really appealing to is just winning.
"I'm not sure how viable that is in the long term.
"If you look at the Phoenix ... we have a lot of Kiwi players playing, we have a lot of players locally from Wellington, and the fans can identify.
"That drives a sense of identity, and people can get behind that.
"That's the big issue that Auckland club faces at the moment.
"If Auckland itself is an Auckland club ... and if it's about being an Auckland club with Auckland values, it kind of distinguishes itself from the rest of New Zealand."
