Why is West Brom vs Wolves kicking off at 11:45am? Black Country derby handed unusual time in FA Cup

West Brom take on Wolves in the first Black Country derby for three years this weekend but they are set to be playing at a very unusual time.

The bitter rivals will clash in the FA Cup fourth round on Sunday, live on talkSPORT, after Gary O’Neil’s side won their replay. 

The Premier League outfit knocked out Brentford to reach this round while the Baggies saw off non-league Aldershot Town. 

It is a highly-anticipated meeting between the two, and the players and fans won’t have long to wait on the day with the game kicking off in the morning…

West Brom vs Wolves will bizarrely kick off at 11:45am this Sunday. 

This was decided due to the advice of police as well as TV scheduling, according to BirminghamLive. 

With the two teams such huge rivals, there will have been concerns of clashes between fans ahead of the big game.

So to combat that and possibly avoid supporter issues, an earlier kick-off was decided upon. 

As well as the policing decision, TV broadcasting has also been taken into account. 

ITV will be showing the action live and to make sure they can also show Liverpool vs Norwich at 2:30pm, an earlier kick-off is ideal. 

Coverage of the Black Country derby will also be live on talkSPORT. 

Faye Carruthers will be your host while commentary will come from Nigel Adderley and former England striker Dean Ashton. 

Despite the strange start time, it won’t put off fans from tuning into what should be an action-packed clash.

This will be the first time West Brom and Wolves have met since 2021 when the two sides shared the points at the Hawthorns in a 1-1 draw.