It may have taken until the back end of the season, but Burnley are finally showing stomach for the fight at the foot of the table, and the greatest of great escapes is now very much on. A three-match unbeaten league run for the first time this season (W1, D2) is timely, and confidence should be at an all-time high after they twice battled from behind with ten men to claim a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday.
That result did see boss Vincent Kompany receive a red card for his protestations at the penalty Chelsea received, but fortunately he should be on the touchline here – something the Clarets hope will help them as they go in search of back-to-back home wins for the first time this season. Wolves stand in their way of doing so, but Burnley do hold a positive recent record in home H2Hs (W4, D2).
That perhaps makes a trip to Turf Moor untimely for Wolves, as they travel on the back of three defeats from their last four competitive games (W1). Aside from the disappointing FA Cup quarter-final loss within that run, the others weren’t catastrophic as Wolves know they’ll be playing Premier League football next season, but their league defeats have been damaging to their chances of a top-seven finish.
Hitting the road isn’t necessarily likely to remedy that disappointment either, as they’ve lost their last two away league outings ‘to nil’. Boss Gary O’Neil will hope those results are just a blip, but having already failed to win away at the other two newly-promoted clubs this season (D1, L1), he won’t be taking this trip lightly as he aims to become the first Wolves manager since Mick McCarthy in 2010 to leave Turf Moor victorious.
Players to watch: Burnley will hope to see Jacob Bruun Larsen on the scoresheet as he’s netted in three of their four league wins this term. O’Neil trusted 18-year-old Leon Chiwome from the off against Aston Villa at the weekend and if he’s to score here, he’d become the club’s youngest-ever Premier League goalscorer. Ironically, the current record holder (Fábio Silva) scored that goal at Turf Moor.
Hot stat: Burnley have the Premier League’s worst points conversion total when scoring first at home this season (1.17- W2, D1, L3).
