There were 29,225 in attendance at Molineux to see the 3rd Round FA Cup match between Wolves and Norwich City on 2nd January 1971. Norwich were a mid-table Second Division team at the time whilst Wolves, under manager Bill McGarry, were one of the leading teams in the country and finished an impressive 4th in Division One at the conclusion to the 1970-71 season.

As the match against Norwich would demonstrate, Wolves were a particularly potent attacking force with goals, in the main, spread collectively through forwards Bobby Gould (24 league and cup goals), former Norwich player Hugh Curran (20), Derek Dougan (13) and midfielder Jim McCalliog (10). However, Wolves were generally profligate in defence, conceding the equal second highest total of goals in the top half of the First Division.

Norwich City, with Scottish winger Ken Foggo top-scoring with 19 league goals, were destined to finish 10th at the end of the 1970-71 season. Under manager Ron Saunders though, Norwich won the Second Division title the following season and, with Saunders still at the helm, reached the final of the League Cup during the 1972-73 season. In goal for City's League Cup Final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, and an integral part of their 1971-72 Second Division title winning team, was Kevin Keelan and he featured at Molineux for the FA Cup clash against Wolves.