Black Country derby fuels family loyalty divide

Ms Waterhouse and her daughter support Wolves while her husband is a staunch Baggies fan

In the run-up to the eagerly-awaited Black Country derby, family divides are beginning to appear as avid fans prepare to back their teams.

West Bromwich Albion from the Championship are preparing to go head-to-head with the Premier League's Wolverhampton Wanderers in an FA Cup tie on Sunday.

For a mother and son who support opposing teams, a friendly family feud could be brewing.

Suzanne Waterhouse is a lifelong Wolves supporter while her son Ross Melrose is a Baggies fan.

The mum-of-two joked on BBC Radio WM: "It broke my heart but we have to let our children make their own choices, even if they are bad ones!"

She added: "I tried to encourage Ross to support Wolves, he was with Wolves when he was a child, they picked him up from one of those soccer schools so he was there in spirit for a few years but he's made his choice."

The avid football fan, who is a home and away season ticket-holder, regularly goes to matches at the Molineux stadium with her daughter who is also a fan.

It is the first time the clubs have faced each other in 12 years, sparking a buzz of anticipation across the region.

Mr Melrose has been a fan of West Bromwich Albion from a young age despite his mother's Wolves allegiance

On the other side of the family, her husband and son have thrown their allegiance behind the Baggies.

Mr Melrose, who now lives in south Wales, said: "When we had Villa in the play-offs in 2019, that was probably the best atmosphere there has been at the Albion in my lifetime and this will probably go up another notch.

"Growing up in the Black Country, Villa were never my local derby and they are not for a lot of Albion fans. This is the derby.

"We haven't played each other for 12 years and I think the Wolves are going into this fancying their chances to finally get one over on us.

"It's going to be an interesting game."

Ms Waterhouse predicts a 1-0 victory for Wolves on Sunday: "We've got the players, we've got a great manager in the making now, so I can't see any reason why we'll lose," she said.

The teams have met 162 times with West Brom winning 65 times, Wolves 53 and 44 draws.

The last time Wanderers won at the Hawthorns was in 1996 in a game that ended with a 4-2 victory.