Credit: Imago

James Barker

Tue 12 May 2026 11:39, UK

Championship supporters are salivating at the prospect of another big derby like West Bromwich Albion and Wolves being part of the 2026-27 calendar.

The Premier League may bring the glitz and the glamour and is where the riches lie, but the EFL is where the proper, old-school games of football are played.

For pure entertainment and unpredictability value, there aren’t many leagues better than the Championship.

2025-26 has been another thrilling term in second-tier history, with three teams – including Albion – being deducted points, Leicester being relegated, Wrexham’s play-off push, Coventry’s brilliance, Hull and Millwall in the play-offs etc etc.

But, somehow the Championship only seems to get more entertaining and dramatic every year, and with a Black Country derby already on the cards, how about a Dockers derby as well?

What Championship fans are saying about 2026-27 derbies

The Black Country derby is a historic rivalry, with the last time West Brom and Wolves met in January 2024 in the FA Cup being the 163rd edition of the fixture.

It was an FA Cup fourth-round clash that was overshadowed by major crowd trouble in the second half, with the two teams having to leave the pitch for over half an hour in order to calm the trouble in the stands that spilled onto the pitch.

With Wolves already relegated from the Premier League and West Brom sticking around in the Championship after their brush with danger, the second tier will be home to this passionate derby in 2026-27.

However, as fans of the Championship are talking about on social media, we could well be in for some more massive rivalries coming to the division over the next few weeks.

Millwall’s loss to Hull City in the Championship play-off semi-final on Monday night means that we now just need West Ham to be relegated, and the infamous Dockers derby will be on the agenda next season.

Those two London rivals haven’t clashed since February 2012, and that would be a fixture that every Championship fan would be looking out for when the fixtures are released.

Then you’ve got Burnley and Blackburn already locked in for two East Lancashire derbies, as you also have with Cardiff and Swansea City in the South Wales derby too, with the Bluebirds having won automatic promotion from League One.

Let’s not forget that Southampton and Portsmouth will be renewing their South Coast derby rivalry once again, whilst Bolton winning the League One play-offs would set up derbies with Blackburn and Preston respectively too.

Morrison and Edwards would add spice to Black Country derby

James Morrison and Rob Edwards: two managers of West Brom and Wolves respectively who have deep personal ties to those football clubs.

‘Mozza’ played 341 times for Albion during over a decade of service at The Hawthorns during his playing career, ascending him to hero status among the Baggies faithful.

Meanwhile, Edwards was born in Telford, and has been a player, academy coach, interim boss and now Wolves’ first-team manager.

So, if those two are still in their respective jobs when the time comes for West Brom and Wolves to meet next season, that would add a rarely seen layer to an already massive game of football.