Yorkshire's double derby weekend is all about the supporters as Leeds United, Huddersfield Town, Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham United go toe to toe

This is derby weekend in Yorkshire, Leeds hosting Huddersfield Town in the west on Saturday, Sheffield Wednesday at home to Rotherham United in the south on Sunday.

The first meaningless derby in football history is yet to be played, but midweek results have ramped these two up another notch.

Nobody's need is more desperate than Wednesday's, already 11 points adrift of Championship safety 13 games into the season. They have not scored in over 10 hours, with consecutive away defeats in Rohl's opening matches as manager.

Things are going so badly for Rotherham United they had to get special Football League dispensation to flesh out a squad decimated by injuries, yet so far they have had comfortably the best week of the quartet, ignoring their problems to build on a draw at Southampton before the international break with a 2-0 win over Coventry City on Wednesday.

For last week's match against Ipswich Town to fall foul of Storm Babet was a blow but suddenly makes them the freshest of the teams, and late on Friday afternoon they added former Middlesbrough and Hull City centre-back Daniel Ayala to their ranks.

The team who have won their last two trips to Hillsborough – and drew the one before that – should have a spring in their step.

The team the Millers and the Owls are looking to drag into the relegation zone are Huddersfield, yet to convince in six games – one won – under Moore. Tuesday's 4-0 defeat at home to Cardiff City was alarmingly feeble so hopefully for them the roar of the Elland Road crowd acts like smelling salts.

The good news is their last 4-0 home defeat, to Norwich City in August, was followed by their only back-to-back wins of the campaign.

The bad news is Leeds have not suffered consecutive defeats under Farke, and are smarting from a 1-0 reverse at Stoke City sealed by a Pascal Struijk own goal and helped by a Patrick Bamford penalty miss.

But really, all of that is secondary to beating and certainly not losing to the other lot.

Farke may only have been living in Yorkshire a few months but he knows football well enough to get it.

“We're playing football for supporters,” he stresses. “Quite often we're talking about transfers, business and money and it's all quite important nowadays.

“But the most important and the most priceless value is our supporters and this game is played for our supporters. If you forgot about this and thought about other things, you don't get the meaning of football.

“Supporters are the most important thing for us as a club but also for football in general.”

And just like his counterparts, Farke feels what it means to represent his club.

“I'm not living on the moon, I am a human being doing normal things, I have to eat, go to the supermarket and whatever,” he says. “We have many occasions through the club where we meet people with the heart and soul of Leeds United. In the city you can literally feel their joy when we are successful and how much it hurts when we have a setback. It's quite important we don't live like we're in a spaceship because we're all human beings, it's just that we are working in a privileged role.”

Moore, who played for Doncaster Rovers, Bradford City and Barnsley before managing Rovers and Wednesday, does not need Yorkshire derbies explaining either.

“These are the games that as a youngster growing up you think about playing in,” he says.

“I live in Huddersfield now and speak to everyone around the area. You get to understand the fanbase, the club, the history, the tradition, and what a fixture like this means.”

When morale is where the Terriers' was in midweek there is no better pick-me-up than beating Leeds.

“It could have been any game next,” says Moore. “It just adds to it with the location of the two football teams, but we know that results like the other night happen.

“There is a lot of hype around it but when you're inside it you have to put your professional hat on.”

Rohl has not yet taken charge of an Owls home game but has already been won over by their supporters after defeat at Plymouth Argyle.

“After a 3-0 defeat, it’s not normal to receive this kind of support,” he comments. “I was very impressed.”

He needs them badly on Sunday. Fans are competitors, not merely spectators, in every derby but the atmosphere at Hillsborough should help the intense football Rohl has been brought in to play.

“If you are pressing high and winning the ball, with the crowd behind you, you can have energy from the stands,” he argues. “Players start the first action, and the fans can provide the fresh air to do it repeatedly.”

Rotherham will have to play it cool so Ayala's experience could be invaluable – particularly with Lee Peltier an injury doubt.

“It's been hard to not have a team and train on my own,” said Ayala, released by Blackburn Rovers in the summer. “I can't wait to get started.”