Wolverhampton Wanderers are set to host Burnley at the Molineux Stadium on Wednesday evening in the second round of the EFL Cup, still seeking their first win of the 2024-25 season.
The hosts have lost both of their opening two matches to the new Premier League campaign, while the visitors have won two and lost one of their first three Championship fixtures.
Match preview
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Wolves have had a varied experience in the six seasons since earning promotion to the Premier League as champions of the Championship in 2017-18, marking their first return to the top division since 2011-12.
They excelled in the first two campaigns back in the top tier of English football, finishing seventh in both 2018-19 and 2019-20, but have failed to replicate that success in the subsequent years.
Since then, Wolves have finished 13th, 10th, were involved in a relegation battle in 2022-23, ending just seven points above the drop zone in 13th, and most recently placed 14th.
Gary O'Neil took charge just days before the 2023-24 campaign after Julen Lopetegui departed the club over financial concerns, and he appeared set to guide the team to a comfortable top-half finish as they sat 10th on matchday 29.
However, Wolves suffered an extremely disappointing end to the season, losing eight of their last 12 fixtures and slipping down to 14th in the table, leaving O'Neil with ambitions of a first top-half finish since 2021-22 this year.
Wolves have endured a less-than-ideal start to the 2024-25 season, suffering a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in their opener, followed by a humiliating 6-2 loss at home to Chelsea.
After those two results, O'Neil will be desperate for his side to pick up their first win of the new term against Burnley, who Wolves have only beaten once in the last nine meetings.
Burnley enter into this game under difficult circumstances, with 16 players having left the club so far this window and rumours of more departures before the transfer deadline, leaving Scott Parker's side with a concerning lack of squad depth.
This was glaringly obvious in Burnley's 1-0 defeat to Sunderland in their most recent outing, where they had to name two goalkeepers and three youngsters on a bench of just seven players, while central defender Luke McNally was sent up front in an attempt to chase an equaliser.
That defeat to Sunderland ended Burnley's perfect start to the Championship season, impressively beating Luton Town 4-1 and Cardiff City 5-0 in Parker's first two games as manager, marking a strong start to a campaign with aims of returning to the Premier League after last year's relegation.
Parker will be hoping Burnley can address their squad depth issues in the remaining days of the transfer window, while the new manager will be aiming to return to winning ways against Wolves on Wednesday.
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Team News
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Wolves will be without Enso Gonzalez and Sasa Kalajdzic as they continue their recovery from cruciate ligament injuries, with Gonzalez not expected to return until April 2025 and Kalajdzic likely to be back by late October.
After a disappointing collapse in the second half against Chelsea saw Wolves concede four goals to lose 6-2, O'Neil could heavily rotate his team in search of a much-improved performance.
Last weekend's goalscorers, Matheus Cunha and Jorgen Strand Larsen, have been shining lights in both of their two defeats thus far, and the pair could remain in the starting side here.
As for the visitors, Aaron Ramsey, Ameen Al Dakhil, Hannes Delcroix, Hjalmar Ekdal, Jordan Beyer, Mike Tresor and Nathan Redmond are all expected to be unavailable due to injury.
Due to their lack of squad depth, a similar side to the one that lined up against Sunderland could be fielded against Wolves on Wednesday.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Semedo, Dawson, Mosquera, Ait Nouri; Gomes, Doyle; Podence, Cunha, Sarabia; Larsen
Burnley possible starting lineup:
Green; Roberts, Egan-Riley, Esteve, Pires; Vitinho, Massengo, Brownhill, Amdouni; Rodriguez, Foster
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Burnley
Wolves have a much stronger squad than their opponents due to Burnley losing 16 players so far in the transfer window, suggesting the hosts will win this one.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
