The staggering police operation that greeted the last Wolves vs West Brom derby | OneFootball

Around 400 police offers were inside the stadium for the previous Wolves vs West Brom derby at The Hawthorns when the game was suspended.

There were 400 police officers inside The Hawthorns when West Brom last played Wolves, as the two clubs prepare to meet for the first time since then on September 20.

The 2026/27 Championship season will see some of the best rivalries in English football take place, with West Ham vs Millwall, Southampton vs Portsmouth and Burnley vs Blackburn just some of the fixtures to look forward to, along with Wolves and Albion.

So, there are some great games on the horizon, and fans at the respective clubs will be certain to create memorable atmospheres on the day.

West Brom vs Wolves policing operation in 2024 was shared

The previous Black Country derby made the headlines for all the wrong reasons, as Wolves’ 2-0 win at The Hawthorns in the FA Cup in 2024 was marred by crowd trouble.

Pedro Neto had given the visitors the lead, but when Matheus Cunha doubled Wolves’ advantage, the trouble started, with away fans believed to be celebrating in the home end.

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That resulted in some fans going onto the pitch, and the game, which kicked off at 11:45, was suspended for 38 minutes, with the players forced to leave the pitch.

During that period, there were issues at both ends of the ground, and the Guardian revealed the extent of the policing operation for the fixture, with Wolves handed a bigger allocation for the game as it was in the FA Cup.

They explain how 400 police officers were deployed inside The Hawthorns, but they were ‘stretched to the limit’ as the incidents occurred at different points inside the stadium.

Of course, West Midlands Police will also have had officers in and around the area, but there were no major issues reported on the day of the game outside of The Hawthorns.

Wolves vs West Brom will be a great occasion at Molineux

Therefore, a robust policing plan will be in place when the two clubs meet for the first time since that clash on September 20 at Molineux.

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With Wolves’ stadium bigger than Albion’s, combined with the issues at the previous game, you would imagine that even more officers will be on duty for the 12:00 kick-off.

But, from a football perspective, it promises to be a fantastic occasion, and it will be a big game for a Wolves side that will be targeting the top two, and a Baggies outfit that will feel the play-offs are a realistic goal this season.

So, as well as local bragging rights, there will be a lot on the line for the points, and you can be sure that Cesar Peixoto and James Morrison will be concentrating on matters on the pitch.

Albion will be backed by 2,550 fans at Molineux having sold out their allocation, which is almost the entire lower section of the Steve Bull Lower, with the police seemingly restricting the final block closest to the South Bank, which is the vocal end at Wolves.