Black Country derby: Why Wolves vs West Brom means so much

Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion face each other this Sunday in a Black Country derby that finally returns to its natural setting. It will be the first league meeting between the two since May 2021 and, above all, the first time since 2012 that Wolves fans will watch a match against their bitter neighbours in person at Molineux. The fixture arrives with the sides separated by three points in the race for promotion to the Premier League.

• First league Black Country derby since May 2021 and first with fans at Molineux since 2012.
• Wolves and Albion are separated by three points, with the home side holding a game in hand.
• Cesar Peixoto takes charge of his first derby in the Wolves dugout, while James Morrison manages Albion after playing in five of them.
• Albion's last league visit to Molineux, in February 2012, ended in a humiliating 5-1 defeat for Wolves.
• Since 2000, Albion have won ten of the 18 league and cup derbies, with Wolves winning just four.

A rivalry born in the earliest days of English football

The Black Country derby is far more than a Championship fixture. It is one of the oldest rivalries in world football, with roots stretching back to the early years of organised sport in England. Wolves and West Brom first met in the FA Cup in 1886, with victory for Albion, who repeated the result the following year in the same competition.

The first league meeting came in December 1888, during the inaugural Football League season, with Wolves winning 2-1. Since then, the fixture has produced decades of memories, impossible goals and nights that each set of supporters treasures or tries to forget depending on the colour of their scarf.

The 5-1 in 2012, the wound Molineux has not yet been able to avenge

The last time the derby was played in front of a crowd at Molineux was in February 2012. That afternoon, Peter Odemwingie scored a hat-trick and Keith Andrews, a former Wolves player, found the net against his old club in an embarrassing 5-1 rout. Mick McCarthy lost his job as manager the following day.

Wolves were relegated at the end of that campaign and, although both clubs have spent time in the top flight over the years, they only overlapped in the 2020-21 season, which was marked by Covid and empty stadiums. That campaign, Albion took four points from a possible six across the two derbies but still went down to the Championship.

Now, twelve years on, the home support finally has the chance to respond from the stands to that humiliation. The 5-1 in 2012 stands as Wolves' second-worst home defeat in the history of the derby, surpassed only by an 8-0 loss in 1894.

James Morrison, from leading role on the pitch to the Albion dugout

The West Brom bench will be occupied by a coach who knows the derby from the inside. James Morrison played in five Black Country derbies as a player, including that 5-1 win at Molineux which left a lasting scar on the opposition dressing room.

These are the games you want to be involved in. The outcome can be a real positive for the players and myself. You can cement a special place with performances in these games.

Morrison has left nothing to chance in his preparation. On top of the usual training sessions, he has brought his players in for an extra briefing led by one of the club's historians, a way of instilling the weight of the badge and of a rivalry that spans 138 years.

A head-to-head record that is close overall but favours Albion recently

Across all league meetings, the overall record is remarkably tight. West Brom have won 55 to Wolves' 52, a minimal difference that explains why every encounter between the two is treated like a final. Since the turn of the millennium, however, the script has changed clearly.

Of the 18 league and cup derbies played since 2000, Albion have won ten and Wolves just four. The most recent meeting went the way of the Wolverhampton side, a 2-0 win in the FA Cup fourth round at The Hawthorns in January 2024, a match marred by trouble in the stands that forced play to be halted for 38 minutes.

Those incidents prompted both clubs to issue a joint statement this week calling for the rivalry to be kept within respectful boundaries. The tension will be there, but the main focus remains on the pitch.

Peixoto and the Raul Jimenez subplot in the derby build-up

Cesar Peixoto faces his first Black Country derby as Wolves boss with Raul Jimenez ruled out due to a knee injury. At least that is what the home coach insists, after being drawn into a war of words with Morrison, who hinted he was not fully convinced about the Mexican striker's absence.

I'll believe it when I see it.

Peixoto responded firmly and denied any attempt to deceive the opposition. The Portuguese coach said he does not play mind games and left a clear message for his players: compete with passion, but also with your head. Emotional management will be key in a match where nerves have decided more than one result.

Wolves warned by the toll of the Birmingham derby

Wolves come into the derby with the recent experience of having been through another high-intensity rivalry match. A fortnight ago they drew 2-2 against Birmingham City in a wild game that slipped away due to an own goal following a mix-up between Jose Sa and Jackson Tchatchoua.

Those are exactly the kind of errors Peixoto wants to avoid against Albion. The Molineux atmosphere will be charged and the tension will be palpable from the warm-up. Three points behind West Brom but with a game in hand, Wolves have the chance to land a blow in the race for the promotion places.