How to Bet on Wolves

Wolves played their first game on 13 January 1877 and became Wolverhampton Wanderers in August 1879 after merging with a cricket club's football section. They helped found the Football League in 1888, playing in its opening round of fixtures against Aston Villa, and won their first FA Cup in 1893, beating Everton 1–0. A second triumph followed in 1908 against Newcastle United. Close calls came before the war, with a one-point miss in 1937–38. The glory years belonged to Billy Wright and the Stan Cullis era, which delivered the first title in 1953–54 and two more in 1957–58 and 1958–59, while Wolves beat Real Madrid in floodlit friendlies. The 1980s brought receivership and a fall into the Fourth Division in 1986–87, before Jack Hayward bought the club in 1990 and funded the rebuilding of Molineux. Promotion arrived in 2003, a play-off final win over Sheffield United, and Nuno guided them back to the Premier League after the 2017–18 Championship title. Relegation on 20 April 2026 ended an eight-year spell in the top flight.

Molineux Stadium has been Wolves' home since 1889, when the first official game there was staged before a crowd of 4,000. It sits in Wolverhampton and holds 31,750 at its official capacity, a long way short of the crowds of the old standing days, when the record attendance of 61,315 was set against Liverpool in a First Division game on 11 February 1939. The South Bank was once among the largest Kop ends in the country. A comprehensive rebuild funded by Jack Hayward between August 1991 and December 1993 produced the all-seater ground, and the Stan Cullis Stand was a later addition, opened up for 2012–13. The stands carry the names of the club's heroes, and the place still has a big-match feel.

The oldest and fiercest rivalry is with West Bromwich Albion, and the Black Country derby is the fixture Wolves fans circle first. The clubs sit just eleven miles apart, and the two met in the Premier League in 2020–21, when Wolves also faced Aston Villa. The two Birmingham clubs, Aston Villa and Birmingham City, are old opponents too, with a long line of meetings, and after Albion's relegation Villa became the only West Midlands rival left in the top flight. Wolverhampton historically sat inside Staffordshire, so a Staffordshire derby with Stoke City is also recognised, while Walsall are the closest club on the map but rarely play at the same level, so the feeling is weaker.