Police release statement ahead of Wolves v West Brom after ugly scenes | OneFootball

The last Black Country derby at The Hawthorns brought plenty of drama on and off the pitch

West Midlands Police have already issued a statement setting out how they intend to manage the Molineux crowd for the Black Country derby between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Bromwich Albion on Sunday, September 20th.

This comes after the last competitive meeting between Wolves and the Baggies - an FA Cup fourth round tie in January 2024 - was heavily disrupted by crowd disorder in the second half at The Hawthorns.

However, this is the first time the two rival fanbases will be present for a league derby in WV1 since a 5-1 away victory for Albion in February 2012, with their only league meeting since coming in the 2020/21 Premier League season, which was impacted by COVID restrictions.

Wolves had made an encouraging start to life back in the Championship for the first time under the newly-appointed Cesar Peixoto, but recently suffered their first competitive defeat under the Portuguese against West Ham United at the London Stadium.

However, James Morrison's side have also started the campaign in impressive fashion under the former Hawthorns cult hero, who was able to steer the club to safety last term despite a two-point deduction.

As such, a fiesty but exciting encounter is set to take place at Molineux later this month, with a strong police presence expected.

West Midlands Police release statement ahead of Wolves v West Brom clash

Action Images

As previously mentioned, this is the first league meeting between the two sides played in front of supporters in 14 years, and a first Championship meeting since the 2007/08 season, which West Brom won 1-0 in April 2008 on route to sealing the title under Tony Mowbray.

However, in the infamous FA Cup clash of two years ago, which was brought forward to an 11:45AM kick-off time on a Sunday, six arrests were made whilst play was halted for 38 minutes due to the disorder which followed Matheus Cunha's goal after Pedro Neto gave Wolves the lead in the first half.

As such, West Midlands Police Superintendent, Tim Robinson, has issued a statement well in advance of the clubs' latest face-off.

"This will be the first Black Country derby which fans have been able to attend at Molineux for many years and we know how much supporters will be looking forward to the fixture," he said.

"We are already working with our partners in preparing our plans for the day with the focus of ensuring everyone can safely enjoy the occasion.

"We are experienced in policing derby matches in this region and we'll make sure we have sufficient resources in place on the day to provide a visible presence and respond to any issues."

Wolves and West Brom fans are eagerly anticipating Black Country derby return

Action Images

Unsurprisingly, the sudden return of one of the country's most-hostile fixtures has been met with plenty of anticipation from both sets of supporters, as well as neutrals.

As a result, West Brom confirmed that the club's allocation of 2,250 away tickets had all been snapped up as of August 21st, whilst no tickets remain in the home sections of Molineux.

It is one of two high-profile Championship fixtures taking place that particular weekend too, with Millwall hosting West Ham 24 hours beforehand, and both have been selected for television coverage.

Wolves have another Midlands rivalry to overcome before West Brom test

Action Images

In recent seasons, Wolves fans have been used to doing battle with Aston Villa for supremacy in the West Midlands, but this season that has all changed.

And, whilst the Black Country derby against West Brom was the first fixture all at Molineux looked out for, with the return occurring in B71 in February, Wanderers do have another local feud to overcome before then.

Indeed, they travel to Birmingham City this weekend, with the fixture also selected for live broadcast at noon on Sunday, in what is the first clash for the club against Blues since a 2-0 victory in April 2018, which came a day after their last promotion to the Premier League was secured under Nuno Espírito Santo.