Wolves are seeking to bounce back in the Premier League tonight as they face Burnley at Turf Moor.
Gary O’Neil watched his depleted squad fall short against Aston Villa on Saturday, as they lost 2-0 at Villa Park.
It was a blow to lose against a rival, but an outcome many expected given how many key players Wolves have out at the moment.
Wolves are back in action tonight against Burnley meaning a quick turnaround, so it’s possible there will still be a pretty small squad.
Matheus Cunha will be in the matchday squad tonight according to O’Neil, which is obviously a big boost. Craig Dawson may also have a chance to be involved, but Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde will not be available.
Despite the absentees, fans are still hoping for a good performance and result against the side in 19th place in the Premier League…
Chris Sutton predicts who will win tonight out of Burnley and Wolves
Wolves got the better of Burnley in the reverse fixture at Molineux back in December, but it was not a pretty performance.
Wanderers won 1-0, but struggled to break Vincent Kompany’s side down.
O’Neil will hope for a more convincing display tonight, and that his players can be a bit more ruthless in front of goal, which was not the case against Villa.
In the eyes of BBC pundit Chris Sutton, the spoils will be shared tonight. Predicting a 1-1 draw, he said (via BBC Sport): “Wolves were pretty limp in their defeat against Aston Villa and although their boss Gary O’Neil was right when he pointed out they were missing some key attacking players, the problem for him is if they are still without them at Turf Moor.
“Matheus Cunha is apparently close to a return after his hamstring injury, which will give them a boost up front, but I still feel like Burnley will give them a good game.
“They (Burnley) are only four points away from safety and a win here would be massive for them, but I don’t think they will quite manage it.”
He is expecting Wolves to do better here than Paul Merson, who is backing the Clarets to win 2-1.
The result is the most important thing tonight
With players missing and Wolves having just lost to Villa, the performance tonight will not matter so long as they take three points.
It is important to bounce back, and Burnley represent a good chance to do so, given they are 19th and have conceded the second-highest number of goals this term.
Despite losing on Saturday, Wolves are still only three points off seventh place.
This needs to serve as motivation heading into tonight’s game. Three points at Turf Moor puts Wolves right back in the mix for European football. Hopefully, those that play can slog it out and get a result, before key players return to the picture.