Rivalries renewed: The derby games back this season
September 17, 2026 16:51
WHAT HAPPENED
- Millwall v West Ham (Saturday, 12:30 BST): The Dockers Derby returns for the first time in almost 15 years. The two clubs, whose rivalry dates back to 1899, have met 60 times in total but just seven times in the past 33 years. Their last meeting at The Den was a goalless draw 15 years ago. The sides were in the same league only in 2011-12 during the past 22 years, when a 0-0 at The Den in September was followed by a 2-1 West Ham win at Upton Park the following February. West Ham have not won in Bermondsey since December 1988 at the old Den. The rivalry has produced violent episodes previously: a 2009 cup fixture “left a scar on football in the city,” according to BBC Radio London's Nick Godwin.
- West Brom v Wolves (Sunday, 12:00 BST): The Black Country derby returns in what will be the 164th senior meeting of the clubs. Their last encounter was an FA Cup fourth-round tie in January 2024, a 2-0 Wolves win at The Hawthorns that was interrupted for 38 minutes because of crowd trouble; the incident later led to Albion being fined by the Football Association. The clubs sit fewer than nine miles apart and have spent only one season in the same division in the past 15 years — the Covid-affected 2021 campaign, when both games were played behind closed doors.
KEY CONTEXT
- Millwall v West Ham: The fixture is one of the longest-running London rivalries and, because the two clubs have spent much time apart, meetings are infrequent. The 15-year gap is the second-longest wait in the rivalry's 127-year history; a 31-year gap before a 1978 match was longer. The return fixture is scheduled for February at the London Stadium.
- West Brom v Wolves: Albion have enjoyed the better of recent meetings across decades — prior to the January 2024 FA Cup tie they had lost only three of 23 meetings and had recorded more wins overall. The last league match between them in front of fans was a 5-1 Albion win at Molineux in February 2012.
WHY IT MATTERS
Both fixtures revive deep-rooted local contests with a history of intense atmospheres and, at times, off-field trouble. Nick Godwin warned Millwall v West Ham “operates on a different level,” and BBC Radio WM's Mike Taylor said Wolves supporters saw the derby's return as one of the season's silver linings, alongside relief at no VAR. Taylor added the match “may play an outsized part in their season by giving them a huge injection of positive energy, if they win.”
Source: BBC Sport Football