Wolves looking to make Turf Moor a happy place
This may seem a good chance to build momentum after their heroics last time out – but Wolves tend to find things difficult at Burnley.
Nuno Espirito Santo is looking to make it third time lucky at Turf Moor, having lost 2-0 to Sean Dyche’s well-drilled outfit two seasons ago before a 1-1 draw last campaign which was a huge factor in not sealing a second straight European adventure.
Wolves have not won there for more than 10 years, so could they finally make it a happy place once more?
The Clarets are in the relegation zone and the lowest scorers in the Premier League so far this season, which suggests if Nuno’s charges are anything like they were as they came back from behind to beat Chelsea 2-1 last Tuesday, they should be successful.
But this evening’s hosts are also extremely resilient.
They have gone three unbeaten and have had a bit of luck on their side in the last two – winning courtesy of a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang own goal at Arsenal and picking up a point at Villa despite facing 27 shots.
Nuno admires the work ethic of Dyche and his players, too.
He usually comes out with the same things when it comes to the opposition, but the Portuguese had a lot more to say about Burnley.
“I have a lot of admiration for Burnley and the group of players that are there,” explained Nuno.
“They’re honest and hard working – and I have a lot of admiration for Sean and the way, consistently, over the seasons he has been able to compete well.
“It’s always hard against them, so I know this one will be very tough for us.
“We have huge respect admiration for Burnley as a club, as a squad, and they’re always very competitive against us.”
Something of a throwback, Dyche tends to go with a no-nonsense 4-4-2 formation – asking players to do plenty of defensive work.
They are also not afraid to mix things up physically and pump balls into the box, finding a fair amount of joy against Wolves in the last couple of meetings.
It is an approach which has proved fruitful over the years, although they are 18th going into this clash.
When asked if the Clarets are different from everyone else in the top flight, Nuno said: “All of the teams have different situations, they’re all different.
“There are no similarities in the teams in the Premier League, and that’s why it’s so competitive.
“That’s why it’s so unpredictable. Every team is full of quality and have different ideas, so it’s up to us as a team to adapt and compete against all the opponents.
“Burnley are a tough opponent with their own specific way, so we will try to impose our idea on the pitch better than their idea.”
Nuno is hoping Leander Dendoncker and Willy Boly are over the knocks they picked up against Chelsea.
Dendoncker went off at half-time while Boly was in discomfort towards the end, and both are being monitored closely.
Joao Moutinho is back from suspension while Wolves can name nine substitutes from this match forward – young striker Theo Corbeanu in with a chance of being in the squad for the first time.
Wolves have picked up 20 points from 13 matches going into this encounter.
On looking to make it back-to-back victories, Nuno added: “It’s going to be a new game, a new challenge for us.
“What we did against Chelsea and the games before that is a process, an idea we have to improve.
“Burnley is going to be totally different, so we cannot rely on what we did before.
“We have to make things happen again. This is what we will try – not words but actions.”
