Everton v Wolves

Twelve clubs. One league. Two of them have been settling scores since the very first season.

When the Football League kicked off in September 1888, both Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers were among the twelve founding clubs. Wolves had been established in 1877 as St. Luke's FC, while Everton traced their origins to 1878 as St. Domingo FC. Their first league meeting came in that historic opening season, setting the stage for a fixture that would span three centuries.

Goodison Park was barely a year old when it earned its place as England's first truly grand football ground.

After a dispute with their Anfield landlord John Houlding, Everton moved across Stanley Park to a new ground on Mere Green Field in 1892. By 1893, Goodison Park had become the first major football stadium in England, complete with two covered stands and a gravel cycling track. Wolves, meanwhile, had settled at Molineux in 1889. Both clubs now had permanent homes, and the fixture between them became a regular feature of the English football calendar.

Two points separated champions from runners-up; seven years separated both clubs from their next chance to settle the argument.

Everton won the First Division championship in 1938-39, their fifth league title, with Wolves finishing second just two points behind. It was a tantalisingly close race that would never get a rematch the following season. The outbreak of the Second World War suspended league football, and both clubs lost some of their best years to the conflict. When competitive football resumed in 1946, the landscape had shifted considerably.

Wolves' floodlit friendlies against Honvéd and Spartak didn't just dazzle Molineux; they quietly seeded the idea for the European Cup.

The 1950s belonged to Wolves. Under the management of Stan Cullis, they won three First Division titles in 1953-54, 1957-58, and 1958-59, plus the FA Cup in 1949. Their famous floodlit friendlies against Honvéd and Moscow Spartak at Molineux helped inspire the creation of the European Cup. While Everton spent much of this decade in the doldrums, the fixture remained a test of character whenever the two sides met.

Goodison staged a World Cup semi-final in 1966; Wolves, meanwhile, were watching from the Second Division.

Goodison Park was selected as a venue for the 1966 FIFA World Cup, hosting five matches including a semi-final. It was recognition of the ground's status as one of England's finest stadiums. Everton themselves were in strong form during this era, having won the league in 1962-63 under Harry Catterick and the FA Cup in 1966. Wolves, by contrast, had slipped to the Second Division in 1965, and the two clubs would spend stretches of the coming decades in different tiers.

Everton claimed the FA Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and a league title across 1984 to 1985, while Wolves were tumbling towards the Fourth Division.

Howard Kendall transformed Everton into the best side in England during the mid-1980s. They won the league in 1984-85 and 1986-87, the FA Cup in 1984, and the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1985. Wolves, meanwhile, had plummeted through the divisions, dropping to the Fourth Division by 1986 after a financial crisis nearly destroyed the club. The two sides were worlds apart, and league meetings between them ceased entirely for long stretches.

A single season back in the top flight; Wolves' reunion with Everton was brief but hard-earned.

After years in the lower divisions, Wolves won promotion to the Premier League in 2003 under Dave Jones. It meant a reunion with Everton in the top flight for the first time since the 1980s. The stay was brief; Wolves were relegated after a single season. But it marked the beginning of a slow climb back to prominence for the Old Gold, while Everton under David Moyes were establishing themselves as consistent top-half finishers.

Fosun's ambition turned Wolves from Championship winners into Europa League regulars in just two seasons.

Under the ownership of Fosun International and the management of Nuno Espírito Santo, Wolves won the Championship in 2017-18 and returned to the Premier League with real ambition. They finished seventh in consecutive seasons and qualified for the Europa League. Meetings with Everton became regular fixtures again, often tight, competitive affairs between two clubs with similar aspirations of breaking into the established top six.

After 132 years at Goodison Park, Everton trade familiar terraces for a 52,888-seat stadium carved into the historic docklands of the Mersey.

Everton's new 52,888-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Liverpool's waterfront is set to open for the 2025-26 season, ending 132 years at Goodison Park. It represents the most significant change in the club's history and will give this fixture a dramatic new setting. Wolves, having secured their Premier League status, will be among the visitors to a ground that promises to be one of the most striking in English football, built into the historic docklands of the River Mersey.