WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS
Carabao Cup second round, Molineux, Tuesday 26 August 2025, 7.30pm BST
West Ham United face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup for the first time ever at Molineux on Tuesday evening.
Wolves have won the competition twice previously in their history, beating Manchester City and Nottingham Forest in Wembley finals in 1974 and 1980 respectively.
West Ham have reached the final twice, losing to West Bromwich Albion over two legs in 1966 and Liverpool in a replay in 1981.
The Hammers rank seventh in the competition’s all-time list with 122 wins from their 233 ties played, while Wolves are down in 41st with 72 wins from 160 ties played.
Last season, Wolves reached the third round before being eliminated at Brighton & Hove Albion, while West Ham did likewise before being beaten at Liverpool.
While the two clubs have never met in the League/EFL Cup previously, they have done so in the FA Cup on three previous occasions, in 1910, 2004 and 2016, with West Ham winning all three.
How to get there…
Driving to Molineux is fairly simple, but parking in the vicinity of the ground is less so, with most of the nearby car parks restricted to players, officials and permit holders on matchdays.
If you do want to drive, head up the M1 and then take the M6 to junction 10. From there, take the A454 via Willenhall to Wolverhampton Ring Road.
At the first roundabout, take the fourth exit (A449 to Stafford), go straight on at the next two sets of traffic lights, then filter right at the third set of lights into Waterloo Road. Molineux appears on the right.
Car parks are available in Birch Street (WV1 4JW), Redhill Street (WV1 1NR) and Whitmore Hill (WV1 4RU). To book a parking pass contact the Ticket Office on 0371 222 1877.
Trains leave London regularly for Wolverhampton, with direct services from Euston leaving at 13.38, 14.38, 15.36 and 16.38, arriving just under two hours later. Alternatively, you can change at Birmingham New Street, with slower overall journey time. From Wolverhampton station, it’s only a ten-minute walk to Molineux.
After the game, there is one direct train back to London at 22.45, arriving into Euston at 01.17.
Where to stay…
With this being a midweek fixture, you may opt to stay over, rather than drive back to London - or wherever you reside - in the early hours of Wednesday morning. If that is the case, Wolverhampton is a sizeable city with plenty of places to stay.
Unsurprisingly, the city centre itself has the usual budget chain options, plus a range of more upmarket hotels.
What to do…
As the second-largest settlement in what is known as the West Midlands Conurbation (Birmingham is the largest), Wolverhampton is a city with plenty of attractions to keep you occupied.
Named after an Anglo-Saxon noble woman named Wulfrun, who founded the city in 985, there has been a settlement where modern-day Wolverhampton lies since the seventh century.
More recently, Wolverhampton grew rapidly during the 1800s following the discovery of coal and iron deposits in the area.
The National Trust-owned Wickwight Manor was built in the 1880s to house the family of local industrialist Theodore Mander, and is now the top-ranked tourist attraction in the city, and home to an extensive art collection. It is situated three miles north of the city centre.
For families heading to Molineux, the Wild Zoological Park is situated in nearby Bobbington (DY7 5EP) and is home to dozens of species of reptiles, insects, mammals, primates and more.
For more ideas, visit the Enjoy Wolverhampton website.
What’s happened there before…
As mentioned in the introduction, this will be the first meeting between the two clubs in the Carabao Cup anywhere, which is some going considering the two have played nearly 400 ties between them since the competition’s inception in 1960/61.
In 37 previous competitive visits to Molineux in all competitions, West Ham United have won 12, drawn seven and lost 18.
Looking back through the history books, our biggest-ever win at Wolves’ home of 136 years was a 5-1 FA Cup second-round victory in our first-ever meeting with Wolves on 5 February 1910.
Our best league win at Molineux was a 4-1 Second Division success on 16 December 1922.
We have beaten Wolves 5-0 twice in the top-flight, on both occasions at the Boleyn Ground in the First Division, on 20 August 1960 and 7 September 1964.
