Before Wolves host promoted side Burnley in the Premier League, Jack Johnson speaks to Will Lancaster, to get a better understanding of the Clarets’ league form, their squad, and the importance of this Sunday’s fixture.
Beating Leeds at home last weekend must have felt like a big win, given both sides are newly promoted. How do you feel the opening eight games have gone so far?
It’s been a mixed bag really, but overall I think we’re quite pleased. The opening day loss to Tottenham was an eye-opener, but we followed that up with a win against Sunderland and it’s largely been extremely competitive since then.
Two heartbreaking last-minute penalties conceded for the winners against Manchester United and Liverpool could have knocked the stuffing out of a lot of teams, but we do have a strong mentality. A draw against Forest, in hindsight, wasn’t great, and apart from our annual battering at Manchester City, the only real disappointing performance has been the loss to Villa.
We’re out of the relegation zone which is a plus, and our home form, seven points from 12, is promising. We just need to make those home performances count against mid table sides.
Wolves have a very poor Premier League record against Burnley, winning just two in their last 10 attempts, with the most recent result being a 1-1 draw at the end of the 23/24 season. How different is the Burnley squad overall now, compared to then?
It’s a lot more sturdy and competitive! We were extremely leaky, naive and vulnerable under Vincent Kompany – nothing like the Burnley of old under Sean Dyche. One of those ten wins came against us that season, and by that point we’d all but given up.
We’ve added a lot more experience – Martin Dubravka, Kyle Walker, Jacob Bruun Larsen (who scored in that game) is back in the squad. But we’ve also added serious midfield grit in Lesley Ugochukwu and Florentino Luis. Couple that with another year in the Premier League for Maxime Esteve and Netherlands international Quilindschy Hartman, and we are just genuinely tough to beat. Only Spurs and City have beaten us by more than one goal. I think you’ll find it tough to break us down… but so will we!
With Wolves being bottom of the table, and Burnley being tipped to at least be in a relegation fight, this fixture does feel like it has an air of importance in both teams’ chances of survival. How are you looking at it, from a Burnley perspective?
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve already had two of those games against Sunderland and Leeds at home, and unfortunately for Wolves, you’re in that bracket as a result of your poor start. I personally think a draw for us wouldn’t be the worst result in the world. Promoted teams should really treat points away from home as a bonus, where you then need those 10 or so wins at home to drag yourself to the 40-point mark.
I think a draw for us also keeps you down there. On paper – at least by the general consensus – we are the weakest team in the league and Wolves failing to get anything from us keeps you down there and batters your confidence a bit. Sorry to say that, but as a team who is in that scrap, we’ll take what we can get!
Obliterating the Championship but coming straight back down the following season is always tough. Watching your side win is great, but from a fan’s perspective, is it better to see your team lose at the highest level or see them win in a lower tier?
I’ve had this question posed to me so often over the past three or four years. At first, you see rival fans like Blackburn and Preston really struggling in the doldrums of the league table for a number of seasons and think ‘yeah, definitely lose at the highest level’.
But we’ve been treated to two 100-point seasons in the Championship. The first was under Vincent Kompany, who absolutely transformed the club, the playing style and the squad inside out in that wonderful campaign. But last season’s with Scott Parker was equally sweet – although we didn’t look as fancy, there’s an art to squeezing teams out 1-0 and keeping it ticking.
Until our incredible Championship luck begins to run out, I’ll stick with winning in a lower tier…
Wolves don’t have a lot to shout about so far, as they still seek their first win of the season. Putting the results aside, Wolves do have some quality in the squad, so if you were to select one or two, who are you most worried about facing on Sunday?
Definitely Jorgen Strand Larsen. It might seem like the obvious answer, but 14 league goals last season is no joke, and our defence – whilst sturdy at times – can struggle against prolific strikers. Erling Haaland, Bryan Mbeumo, Richarlison and Donyell Malen have all had fun against us and they’re all proven in this division, barring Malen.
I have a soft spot for Joao Gomes, a real workhorse with a touch of quality. He would worry me a bit if he overruns Josh Cullen, as will the physicality of your backline, as Zian Flemming doesn’t seem to get a tune out of a five-back.
What is your predicted lineup for Burnley?
It can chop and change – Scott Parker has opted for a five-back against the ‘bigger’ clubs such as City, Liverpool, Villa, but he’s gone with a four against Sunderland and Leeds. Sorry to do this to you again, but I think you’d fall into the latter category, and it worked pretty well against Leeds last weekend!
I’d go 4-3-3: Martin Dubravka; Kyle Walker, Axel Tuanzebe, Maxime Esteve, Quilindschy Hartman; Lesley Ugochukwu, Florentino Luis, Josh Cullen; Loum Tchaouna, Zian Flemming, Jaidon Anthony.
And finally, what is your predicted scoreline for Sunday’s fixture?
It’s a tough one to predict. You’d like to think we’ll ride the wave of Wolves’ poor form, but the fact of the matter is that we’re tipped to be relegated, and you’ll look at this as an absolute must win. You’ve got to win at some point and we’ll be the easy target.
But I can’t take my mind off of your poor form and how easy Sunderland and Leeds cut you open. We’re sturdier than Leeds despite conceding more, simply because we’ve had tougher games.
To stop my waffling – I’m going to go 1-1. We’ll score first when Wolves go for the opener and leave themselves open, but we’ll fail to see it out against a physical side.
