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Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Burnley: Pre-match Analysis

This game is set between two teams trying to battle against relegation with the hosts, Wolverhampton Wanderers, currently squandering at the foot of the Premier League table with just two points their name as they are yet to pick up a win this season in the league.

Meanwhile, the visitors, Burnley currently find themselves two points above the relegation zone on seven points in 17th position.

With West Ham United losing to Leeds United it is a great opportunity for Burnley to bridge a gap between themselves and the drop zone especially with Nottingham Forest having a difficult fixture against Bournemouth.

Tactical Setup

In Burnley's last fixture against Leeds, where they picked up all three points in a comfortable victory, they setup with a midfield three of Florentino Luis, Josh Cullen and Lesley Ugochukwu.

This change in system proved to be the reason for Burnley's win as they had stability and physicality in the middle third of the pitch which they have struggled to find whilst only having two midfielders on the pitch.

With Wolves likely to setup in similar fashion it's important for Burnley to matchup in a man to man system as they will need to win that midfield battle if they want to walk away from Molineux with all three points.

The new Burnley star has been ever impressive in every game he has played.

Showing his elite ball winning skills in midfield for Burnley so far as he ranks top of players for most tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes with 6.7. Also putting him amongst the highest across the top five leagues in the world.

Not only is he incredibly important as an individual but he compliments his fellow midfield partners, Cullen and Ugochukwu, incredibly well.

As his defensive capabilities allows the likes of Cullen and Ugochukwu to roam forward and support the forward line.

Which is what happened against Leeds as Ugochukwu was heavily involved in attacking play even putting the Clarets into the lead with a header.

Defensive Solidarity

The Clarets will be hoping to pick up back to back clean sheets for the first time in the Premier League this season.

With the change back to a defensive four being a good familiarity for Burnley as against Leeds there were less weaknesses on display.

However, they got caught with runs in behind on a couple occasions which they will be hoping to iron out if they want to stop Wolves from scoring. Which so far this season most teams have found relatively easy to do.

The English attacker will be hoping to return back to his goalscoring ways against a Wolves side that is quite weak defensively.

Anthony is likely to be faced up against Matt Doherty, who he will be looking to get the better of with his powerful direct running.

Jaidon's instincts inside the penalty area could also be incredibly important as he has shown so far this season that he is able to consistently find himself in the right area to put the ball in the back of the net from a scramble or a rebound.

The experienced right back had his best game in a Burnley shirt against Leeds as he picked up an assist as well as being important for his sides clean sheet.

With another important game for Burnley coming up against Wolves they will once again turn to his experience and winning mentality as an example for the rest of the team.

As Parker and his staff will know these are the sorts of games Burnley need to walk away from with a draw at the very least but a win will always be the main goal in games against fellow relegation candidates.

With Walker knowing what it's like in high pressure games his leadership and on ball qualities will be needed to guide his side to all three points and to have a better chance of surviving the drop as they build a bigger gap to the relegation zone.

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