Burnley vs Wolves Odds
Burnley Odds | +170 |
Wolves Odds | +150 |
Draw | +260 |
Over / Under | 2.5 -125o / +100u |
Burnley will look to build on the best result of its Premier League season Tuesday when it hosts a Wolverhampton Wanderers squad trying to avoid a third consecutive away defeat.
With 10 men for most of the encounter, Burnley twice came from a goal down to earn a 2-2 draw at Chelsea on Saturday and extend its season-best unbeaten run to three matches. But they still begin the midweek matchday four points beneath the relegation line.
Wolves performed admirably in its 2-0 loss at Aston Villa later Saturday, but are still struggling to find offensive production during a run in which they've been without leading scorers Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan.
Wolves earned a 1-0 win in the teams' previous meeting at the Molineaux in early December.
Burnley
Burnley arrived in London knowing it would be without in-form striker David Fofana, prevented from playing against his parent club after arriving on loan from Chelsea in the winter transfer window.
Then matters got worse after Lorenz Assignon received his marching orders for a second yellow-card offense before halftime, a foul that also resulted in Cole Palmer's go-ahead spot kick.
Yet, somehow, a Burnley side that had seen Fofana do most of its attacking damage since the start of February scored twice without him in a short-handed second half. Josh Cullen's thunderbolt of a volley made it 1-1 early in the second 45 minutes. Then Dara O'Shea's header pulled the Clarets level again late on, helped by the mishandling of Chelsea goalkeeper Đorđe Petrović.
When it was over, Burnley had earned a third positive result in succession when it previously hadn't even strung two together. And while most of the day's chances were Chelsea's, the emotional lift such a result can give Vincent Kompany's men is hard to quantify.
Fofana should return to the fold against Wolves as Burnley eyes a stretch run that is more favorable than most. In the final eight games on the schedule, the Clarets won't have to face any of the current top-four sides in the table. And they have three true relegation six-pointers, beginning with a trip to Everton next Saturday.
Wolves
Wolves have been able to exceed expectations while managing absences from Hwang, Cunha and Pedro Neto at separate intervals, but the absence of the trio together in recent weeks has proven a difficult obstacle to overcome.
The first two games after Hwang's hamstring injury left manager Gary O'Neil without a natural choice at center forward, and Wolves generated less than 1.0 expected goals in each. Neto tried to fill the void left by his two other fallen attackers as a makeshift No. 9, but played only a half in each and hasn't seen the field since with his own injury concern.
When Wolves have generated more chances than their opponents, they haven't been able to finish enough of them. Rayan Aït-Nouri may still be losing sleep over the open opportunity that could've given his side the lead in an eventual 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa last Saturday.
The good news is that Cunha appears ready to return in some form Tuesday, recovering much quicker than expected from a hamstring injury that first sidelined him Feb. 10. According to O'Neil, Cunha had been trying to talk his way back into the side even sooner.
Burnley vs Wolves
Prediction
Wolves may be short of personnel, but with survival already well secure and a possible European place still on the horizon, there isn't a reason for O'Neil's squad to suddenly take a more pragmatic tactical approach.
And Kompany's Clarets have more or less always tried to play attacking, attractive football on their home ground, one of the reasons his job appears to be secure regardless of the final outcome of this current fight for top-flight survival.
With the Wolves news in particular perhaps depressing the price on Overs, this is a decent place to get aggressive, sell a goal and wager on a total cashing Over 3.5 goals at +225 odds and an implied 30.8% probability. It's a bet that has paid out in half of Wolves' eight away matches at lower-half opposition and in six of Burnley's 15 total league home games.