Burnley v Blackburn: Top spot of the Championship at stake in Sunday's derby

Under Vincent Kompany, Burnley are the highest scorers in the Championship this season

Of the four Lancashire clubs competing in the Championship this season, it is fierce rivals Burnley and Blackburn Rovers who have risen to the top of the table.

Ahead of the World Cup break, the Clarets occupy top spot, with Rovers in second. They are now preparing to face each other at Turf Moor in a huge game on Sunday.

With derby bragging rights up for grabs as well as a valuable three points, BBC Sport takes a closer look at what this East Lancashire rivalry means.

'Going top doesn't make any difference'

Third-placed Sheffield United could leapfrog both Blackburn Rovers and Burnley if they beat Cardiff City on Saturday

When Vincent Kompany became Burnley boss in June, it was off the back of a successful stint in charge of Belgian side Anderlecht, but he arrived to find a club at the beginning of a difficult transitional period.

The Clarets had just been relegated from the Premier League and facing a repayment of a significant portion of a £65m loan from American finance company MSD Holdings.

In one of his first interviews the former Manchester City captain played down their chances this season, saying that an immediate return to the top flight was "not essential" despite their level of debt.

Fast forward five months and he has taken Burnley to the top of the table but Kompany is similarly coy about his side's prospects in Sunday's derby.

"I don't speculate too much. It wouldn't make any difference to me whether we go top [by beating Blackburn] or not. I want to win in every game because that is what we do," the 36-year-old told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's a special one as well because it's a derby but I'm not going to stare myself blind at the league table at the moment.

"I like to give it the importance it deserves. Unless you coach one of the top 10 clubs in Europe, where do you get your trophies from or your moments?

"You get it from rivalries and it's sad when you lose and great when you win and I'm fine with that. It's something I like to embrace but it doesn't mean I change the preparation."

Response to Sheff Utd thumping

Kompany was named the Championship's manager of the month for October, having led the club to an initial unbeaten eight-match run during that month.

Burnley's impressive form had stretched further back than October, however they welcome Blackburn off the back of a sobering 5-2 defeat by fellow promotion-chasers Sheffield United.

That loss ended a 15-game run without defeat, but Kompany feels his side have learned from the experience as they look to establish their lead at the top of the Championship heading into the month-long World Cup break.

"We're both at the top of the league at the moment and that means we've both done good things and my main thing now is looking at how we can have an advantage on the day," he added.

"Our team 99% of the time has been physically on top. [Against Sheffield United] we asked too much of them.

"[But] my respect for the team has gone up even more. I didn't think they would take it this far. Now we've had a full week, players that needed game time have played in midweek and players that needed resting have rested.

"We've worked hard in the later part of this week as well which is good."

Jon Dahl Tomasson has led Blackburn to a league-high 12 wins from 20 Championship matches

Jon Dahl Tomasson's appointment by Blackburn Rovers came after Tony Mowbray's five-year spell in charge came to an end in May.

In Mowbray's final campaign, what had looked like a promising push for a play-off spot fizzled out as they eventually finished eighth and six points outside the top six.

But Tomasson has moulded Blackburn into one of the league's most consistent teams. Under his stewardship, they have won 12 of their 20 league games, drawing none.

"When I came to the club it was about the project. But when you play in a local derby you don't think about the project so much. You want a good performance and think about how to put in a good performance," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"It's about getting the result. We'll go to Burnley with the attitude that we want to win the game.

"Every game is difficult in the Championship. Every team is a challenge in this league. We'll play against a good side but we'll be going with a lot of confidence."

Heading into their short trip to Turf Moor, Blackburn defeated Premier League side West Ham on penalties in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

They meet Burnley for the first time since 2015-16 and have not beaten their rivals in their past six league matches, but Tomasson expects his side to keep their cool despite the pressure of a local derby and so much at stake.

"My players always play with passion but use their brain and don't do unnecessarily stupid things. I'm not afraid at all," he continued.

"Football is for fans. When you have local derbies where it's very close, it's a massive game between two teams top of the league, two teams with a long history, that makes it exciting.

"We want to make our fans happy and proud and give them the feeling of going to work on Monday with a smile on their face."