Pre-match analysis: Can Wolves restore their winning formula in the cup?

Wolves host Burnley at home in the Carabao Cup second round on Wednesday evening.

Gary O’Neil‘s men come into this game on the back of a heavy 6-2 defeat against Chelsea on Sunday. Wolves played well in the first half and even had a greater xG (expected goals) than Chelsea but poor defending led the Blues to capitalise on their mistakes.

The Black Country side will be looking to turn around their poor performance with a solid win over the Clarets. 

Back four dilemma

Wolves have transitioned from a back five formation into a back four to increase the attacking numbers that they have upfront. In pre-season, this system had worked superbly, impressing fans with their style of play. 

However so far in the Premier League they have shipped eight goals already in just two games.

Fans across social media are calling for a return to the back five for more defensive solidity, and Gary O’Neil will have a decision to make tomorrow night.

With Burnley being weaker opposition, it will be most likely that the English coach will stick to the back four and he will be hoping his players can improve from their performance on Sunday.

Ryan Ait-Nouri had a game to forget allowing Noni Madueke to score a hat-trick from that left-hand side. We could see the return of Toti Gomes at that left-back position if O’Neil decides to drop the Algerian full-back.

Preventing Burnley’s counter-attacks

The Clarets have already scored nine goals in just three games so far in the EFL Championship this season. A large majority of their goals have come from quick counter-attacks, which is something Wolves will need to deal with.

With Wolves playing a high press, it could play into the hands of Burnley and they could hit them quickly on the break. In a recent game against Cardiff, the Clarets scored a multitude of goals from counter-attacks.

However, the championship side do not have the level of quality that Arsenal or Chelsea do and so O’Neil’s men will be more likely to win the ball back high up.

Players like Yerson Mosquera and Toti Gomes possess enough pace to deal with a direct approach from the opposition and so Wolves should not be hurt too much from Burnley’s attack.

Strand Larsen’s effectiveness

Jorgen Strand Larsen scored his first goal for Wolves against Chelsea on Sunday. The Norwegian man played very well and his link-up play almost led to a few goals.

He proved difficult for the Blues defence to deal with, linking multiple times with Matheus Cunha and grabbing himself a goal. The pair will look to link up well again against a weaker defence and grab more goals.

His positioning and awareness was also impressive and caused many problems in and around the box. He is the type of out-an-out striker that Wolves have been crying out for since the departure of Raul Jimenez. 

Larsen is also quite a physical player and can use his pure power to outstrength his man. As Burnley are quite a physical side, he might be the key to breaking down their back line, and continue to link up with other attackers to score.

Selection headache

Gary O’Neil has so far made one change to his side in the Premier League, bringing in Matheus Cunha for Rodrigo Gomes on Sunday against Chelsea. 

The Brazilian had been out with injury in pre-season and the head coach did not want to risk him on the opening day, but had brought him back into the starting XI.

O’Neil could make a few changes after the poor performance on Sunday and this could be refreshing to see what other personnel his players have to offer. Players like Pedro Lima, Goncalo Guedes and Tommy Doyle have hardly featured in the league so far and could be set for minutes on Wednesday night. 

Nelson Semedo and Santiago Bueno could come into the side for their first minutes in order to provide more defensive stability after the pair impressed last season under O’Neil.

Daniel Podence has featured as a substitute in both Premier League games so far and it would be no surprise if he was to get his first start this season.

The Wolves boss has plenty of options to choose from, which is something that has been very rare for the club in recent years, with previous managers consistently calling for the board to bring in more players.