Wolverhampton Wanderers v West Ham United
Premier League, Molineux, Tuesday 1 April 2025, 7.45pm BST
For the first time in 17 days, West Ham United finally return to Premier League action on Tuesday with a trip to the West Midlands for a clash against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Hammers have lost just one of their last four top-flight games, with that solitary loss coming against Newcastle United on 10 March, and as we look to get back to winning ways after a 1-1 draw with Everton last time out, Graham Potter will be keen to build another strong run of form after the international break.
Wolves are making steady progress in their battle for Premier League safety, and took a big step towards retaining their top-flight status after winning 2-1 at Southampton ahead of the first international break of 2025.
Opta’s position-prediction model gives Vítor Pereira’s side an 83.4 per cent chance of ending the season in the 17th position they currently occupy, though the Portuguese has generated some momentum since taking over from Gary O’Neil in mid-December and he will be desperate to carry that level of positivity into the summer.
The Irons will be looking to complete the Premier League double over Wolves, having won the reverse fixture 2-1 at London Stadium in December, where Tomáš Souček and Jarrod Bowen strikes sealed the points.
Potter's men currently sit 16th in the standings with nine games of 2024/25 to go, and they can extend the eight-point gap that currently exists between the teams with a fourth consecutive Premier League victory over the Old Gold.
An enticing encounter lies in store under the lights then, with both teams vying for victory to shoot themselves up the rankings. Scroll below to find all the information you need ahead of kick-off...
Tickets…
West Ham fans are advised that the Club’s allocation of 3,010 tickets have sold out.
The first 90 per cent of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 21+ Loyalty Points. The remaining ten per cent (301 tickets) were then made available by a ballot process to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture. The ballot closed at 12noon on Wednesday 5 March.
Travel…
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 .40 past the hour, 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.
How To Follow…
Tuesday’s 7.45pm kick-off will NOT be broadcast live in the UK, but will be shown across the world by the Premier League’s international broadcast partners.
If you live outside the UK, click HERE for details of Premier League listings in your territory.
You can follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app, and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle on our website and social media.
Live audio commentary will be available in the UK on BBC Radio London, and worldwide on our official website and app.
Team News…
Graham Potter revealed in his pre-Everton press conference, way back on 13 March, that Niclas Füllkrug has now resumed training with the squad and is edging ever closer to a return.
The Germany forward has been absent from first-team action since suffering a hamstring injury in Potter's first match in charge in east London, at Aston Villa in January.
Elsewhere, Crysencio Summerville continues his recovery from a hamstring problem, but Vladimír Coufal is expected to be available for selection again having started both games for the Czech Republic during the international break.
Wolves are expected to be without Matheus Cunha, who continues to serve a suspension following his FA Cup red card against AFC Bournemouth at the start of March. Fellow forwards Saša Kalajdžić, Leon Chiwome and Enso González are missing through injury alongside long-term defensive absentee Yerson Mosquera.
Opposition…
It is close to nine years since Wolverhampton Wanderers were bought by Chinese investment group Fosun.
After being relegated from the Premier League in 2012, and dropped into League One the following year, Wolves returned to the second tier in 2014.
They missed out on the Play-Offs by a single place in 2014/15, then finished the 2015/16 season in 14th place in the Championship, with supporters increasingly unhappy at the direction the club appeared to be travelling in.
Fosun’s arrival did not initially lead to an improvement in on-field results, with Wolves employing three managers in their first season in charge - Kenny Jackett, Italian Walter Zenga and Scot Paul Lambert - on their way to a 15th-place Championship finish.
However, the appointment of Portuguese Nuno Espírito Santo in May 2017, combined with Fosun’s close relationship with Nuno’s compatriot, agent Jorge Mendes, saw Wolves’ fortunes rapidly improve thereafter.
Mendes used his influence and contacts to bring in a succession of Portuguese players to Molineux - Ivan Cavaleiro and Hélder Costa had arrived in July 2016, followed by Rúben Neves, Rúben Vinagre and Diogo Jota the following summer.
All five played starring roles as Wolves won the Championship title in 2017/18, before their fellow countrymen Rui Patrício and João Moutinho, Mexico striker Raúl Jiménez and Spanish pair Adama Traoré and Jonny were signed to help the club finish seventh in the Premier League the following season.
The 2019/20 season brought a second successive seventh-place finish and a run to the UEFA Europa League quarter-finals under the unflappable Nuno.
That level of achievement was always likely to be difficult to maintain, especially after Nuno’s departure to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2021, and Wolves have settled for four mid-table finishes in the last four seasons under three different managers.
Yet another Portuguese, Bruno Lage, took Wolves to tenth in 2021/22. Spaniard Julen Lopetegui replaced him in November 2022 and led the Old Gold to safety, before departing in August 2023.
Former West Ham United midfielder Gary O’Neil then guided Wolves to 14th and the FA Cup quarter-finals last term, but the West Midlands side struggled for consistency throughout the early part of 2024/25, and the 2-1 home defeat to Ipswich Town in December signalled the end of O’Neil’s reign.
The Old Gold moved quickly to bring in Vítor Pereira, who inherited a team 19th in the table with just two league wins all season, a club deep in relegation trouble.
However, Pereira, who has won league titles with Porto, Olympiacos and Shanghai SIPG, has steadied the ship at Molineux, with Wolves 13th with 17 points from 13 games in a table based only on results since the Portuguese took charge in mid-December.
That puts them above Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, and those positive vibes offer hope of a successful first full campaign at the helm for Pereira in 2025/26, if they can first confirm their Premier League status before the summer.
Previous Meetings…
West Ham United will meet Wolverhampton Wanderers for the 18th time in the Premier League on Tuesday evening.
The first was the 2009/10 season. Gianfranco Zola’s Irons claimed a 2-0 win away from home, but lost 3-1 at the Boleyn Ground, with future West Ham winger Matt Jarvis among the Wolves goalscorers.
The overall record in all competitions is firmly in the Hammers’ favour with 37 wins, while Wolves have won 24 times, and there have been 15 draws.
Both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham appear to go through spells of dominance in this particular fixture, and it is fair to say that Tuesday’s visitors have enjoyed the upper hand in more recent outings.
The Hammers have won the last three Premier League matches between the two sides, including a 2-1 victory at London Stadium in December 2024, while we also completed the Premier League double over Wolves last season.
Wolves’ last win over West Ham came in the American state of Florida in July 2024 in the Stateside Cup, while back on home soil, the Old Gold’s most recent three-point haul in the Premier League was in January 2023 when Daniel Podence scored the only goal of the contest.
The Irons’ most emphatic Premier League result against Wolves was the 4-0 victory we scored over them at London Stadium in September 2020.
Prior to that, the Hammers registered two 5-0 top-flight wins over Wolves in the old First Division, with Bobby Moore scoring in both victories at the Boleyn Ground in December 1960 and September 1964.
Match Officials…
Referee: Tony Harrington
Assistant Referees: Scott Ledger and Sian Massey-Ellis
Fourth Official: David Webb
VAR: Stuart Attwell
Assistant VAR: Richard West
Tony Harrington has been confirmed as the referee for West Ham United’s Premier League clash away to Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday evening.
One of the newest top-flight referees, who was promoted to Select Group One ahead of the 2021/22 season, Harrington takes the whistle for his second West Ham match this term.
The first was during our 2-1 defeat in the season opener at home to Aston Villa in August 2024, while he also took charge of this exact fixture last season, when James Ward-Prowse’s outrageous late goal straight from a corner helped power the Hammers to a 2-1 comeback win in the West Midlands.
Harrington refereed his first Premier League match in December 2021, and has gone on to take charge of 33 fixtures in the competition in total.
The Hartlepool-based official possesses plenty of EFL Championship experience, having refereed 194 matches in the second tier from the 2013/14 campaign onwards, and was in charge of two Wembley finals in the space of a week in May 2021.
First, he officiated the FA Trophy final between Hereford and Hornchurch, then he returned for Blackpool's League Two Play-Off final victory over Lincoln City.
For more information about the officials, click HERE.
