Wolverhampton Wanderers take on Everton this Tuesday evening in the Premier League, with Molineux the venue for the clash. VAVEL looks back at some classic encounters between the two sides.

  • Wolves 3-1 Everton, 21st January 1978

Our first trip to Molineux was a cold winter's day in Division One (now the Premier League), with the pitch still covered with patches of snow, meaning that the elusive orange ball had to be used for the game.

Wolves were managed by Sammy Chung, who was in his second season in charge after winning promotion back to the top flight as Second Division champions last year. Chung's side now found themselves battling relegation, sitting 16th in the league.

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Everton had Gordon Lee in the dugout who in contrast to Wolves, sat 2nd in the league with title aspirations firmly in their sights. The man chosen to be on Everton's bench was Dave Jones, a man synonymous with his opposition for leading them back to the top flight in 2003, after a 19-year absence. 

With Everton billed as the favourites, it was the underdogs who grabbed the first goal just before the half-hour mark, when Steve Daley played a lovely through ball to Kenny Hibbitt, who slotted the ball past the helpless George Wood in goal for the Toffees.

 

Wolves doubled their lead when Daley received the ball out wide in the Everton half and dribbled inside, only to play a lovely reverse pass to Willie Carr, whose audacious lob was palmed away by Wood, but only to the laces of Hibbitt who then fired in Wolves' second.

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Things only got worse for the Toffees not long after, as Wolves managed to add a third to make it 3-0. A long ball was not dealt with well by the Everton defence, with Hibbitt managing to win a 50-50 to knock Daley through on goal, who then fired the ball into the bottom corner exquisitely. 

Everton did manage to win a penalty in the latter stages of the game after Jim Pearson was brought down by Bob Hazell in the box. Trevor Ross stepped up to take it and found the top corner effortlessly, however it made no difference to the outcome though, as Wolves claimed a vital two points in their fight for survival.

  • Wolves 2-1 Everton, 1st May 2004

Our next trip to Molineux saw a bottom of the table clash, with Wolves facing almost certain relegation in 18th and Everton hovering just above in 16th, but with enough points to avoid the drop.

Even if Wolves managed to win all of their remaining games, their vastly inferior goal difference would still condemn them to the Championship

Jones, who sat on the bench in the encounter above from 1978, would see his Wolves side go behind inside the first 2 minutes, with James McFadden able to get to the byline and put in a cross for Leon Osman to head in the opener. 

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Molineux groaned as another unpleasant drubbing appeared on the cards. Yet Wolves did manage to create some chances, with a young Wayne Rooney also coming close for the Toffees.

It was Wolves though who managed to strike next after 55 minutes. An incredible long-range effort from striker Henri Camara left Nigel Martyn completely helpless in the Everton goal. 

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Wolves grabbed the winner in the 84th minute, after winger Mark Kennedy whipped in a lovely free-kick, in which Carl Cort managed to head in to score Wolves' second.

Molineux erupted, with fans celebrating what would turn out to be their last Premier League win for five years, as the men in gold dropped down to the Championship again.

  • Wolves 0-3 Everton, 9th April 2011

Our last trip to Molineux saw the Toffee's smash in three goals to hinder Wolves' hopes of survival, as they sat in the drop zone. The bottom of the league was very tight, with eight points the difference between bottom and 9th.

Everton on the other hand were chasing Europe and came to Molineux with three points in mind. It was the hosts though that started the game more brightly, pinning the Merseysiders into their own half for the first 20 minutes. 

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Wolves were unable to find a breakthrough though and shortly after, Mick McCarthy saw his side go a goal down. Osman delivered a lovely cross into the box, with a towering header from Jermaine Beckford giving Everton the first goal of the game.

After a brilliant save from Wolves' Wayne Hennessey that saved George Elokobi from scoring an own goal, the ball fell to Phil Neville outside the box, who rifled in a scorcher of a shot into the top corner.

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With the score 0-2 before half-time, the Toffees found their third. Wolves gave away possession cheaply in the middle of the park, which launched another Everton counter-attack, with Diniyar Bilyaletdinov picking up the ball. 

The Russian then dribbled unopposed towards Wolves' penalty box and let rip from 25-yards out, with an absolute screamer into the roof of the net to make it 0-3. 

The second half was much less eventful, with Everton able to keep Wolves at bay and come away with all three points. Wolves were left to contemplate their chances of staying up with one game less.

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