Burnley vs Wolves preview, team news, kick-off, prediction

Dale Stephens set to miss out; Leander Dendoncker, Willy Boly are Wolves doubts; follow Burnley vs Wolves on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm on Monday; kick-off 5.30pm

Monday 21 December 2020 16:25, UK

Team news and stats ahead of Burnley vs Wolves in the Premier League on Monday, live on Sky Sports; kick-off 5.30pm.

Team news

Dale Stephens is closing in on a return for Burnley but Monday's clash with Wolves may come too soon for the midfielder.

A hamstring injury has restricted his involvement since a September switch from Brighton and yet he could have a part to play over the festive period, which is also the case for defender Phil Bardsley (rib), who was back on the bench at
Aston Villa on Thursday.

Sean Dyche remains without Johann Berg Gudmundsson (hamstring) and Jack Cork (ankle), but the duo are edging closer to being back in contention again.

Wolves could be without Leander Dendoncker and Willy Boly.

Both players picked up injuries during the victory over Chelsea in midweek and, although boss Nuno Espirito Santo was cagey regarding their fitness on Friday, he said Tuesday's match had left him with some problems.

Joao Moutinho is available again following suspension but Raul Jimenez (fractured skull) and Jonny (knee) remain sidelined.

How to follow

Burnley vs Wolves will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 5pm on Saturday; kick-off at 5.30pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.

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Watch the Premier League live on Sky Sports

At least 146 Premier League games will be shown live on Sky Sports in the 2020/21 season. The Premier League has further increased the number of televised games this season from 200 to 231, with over half of the extra fixtures set to be shown live on Sky Sports.

Overall, Sky Sports will be showing at least 146 Premier League matches live throughout the 2020/21 season, continuing to bring you all the latest twists, turns and shocks at the home of the Premier League.There will also be two additional midweek programmes - one will be played across the weeks commencing January 11 and 18 and the second will be in the week commencing May 10. All of these games will be broadcast live.

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Jones Knows prediction

A Wolves shirt with Jones Knows imprinted on the back is certainly on my Christmas list. They made me look like the second coming of Jesus Christ himself in midweek when they delivered a 2-1 win - as predicted in this very column. And, the 13/2 for a Ruben Neves shot along with Wolves to avoid defeat landed in my Jones Knows betting-focused column.

You get the feeling this one will be an additional encounter with little of the way of exciting action at least for 45 minutes. Since promotion back to Premier League in 2018, they have failed to score a first half goal in 63 of 89 games and a switch back to a back three only enhances the chances of a low scoring first half - as seen against Chelsea where it was 0-0 at the break.

Wolves' quality through Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence should start to shine through as the game progresses. The 4/1 for a Draw/Wolves in the half-time, full-time market is appealing against a Burnley side, who are the lowest scorers in English football with just six goals.

JONES KNOWS PREDICTS: 0-1

Opta stats

Burnley have lost just one of their last six home league games against Wolves (W3 D2), with that coming in the first Premier League meeting between the sides at Turf Moor in March 2010 (1-2).
Wolves have won just one of their last eight league meetings with Burnley (D4 L3), winning 1-0 at home in the Premier League in September 2018.
Both Premier League meetings between Burnley and Wolves last season ended 1-1, with the home side netting a 90th minute equalising penalty in both games.
All five of Burnley's Premier League wins in Monday games have seen them keep a clean sheet, with their last four such victories being by a 1-0 scoreline.
Wolves have won eight of their last 10 away league matches on Monday (D1 L1), winning two this season: 2-0 at Sheffield United and 1-0 at Leeds.
Since beating Bournemouth 3-0 in February, Burnley have failed to score more than once in any of their last 10 Premier League home games (W2 D4 L4), netting seven goals in the process.
Wolves have alternated between defeat (4) and victory (3) in their last seven away league games, losing 0-4 at Liverpool last time out.
Burnley manager Sean Dyche has managed more home league games against Wolves without losing than any other side as Clarets boss (P4 W2 D2).
Since returning to the Premier League in 2018/19, all three of Wolves' Premier League goals against Burnley have been scored by Raul Jimenez, who is out injured for this match.
Wolves' Pedro Neto has been involved in six goals in 13 Premier League games this season (4 goals, 2 assists), as many as he had in 29 appearances in the competition last term (3 goals, 3 assists).

Pitch to Post Preview: Ancelotti and Arteta's first years assessed; Plus Gareth Bale and Dele Alli latest, and why Leeds could trouble Man Utd

This week on the Pitch to Post Preview Podcast, Peter Smith is joined by Sky Sports News reporter Alan Myers and Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith to analyse Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta's work at Everton and Arsenal, ahead of their one year anniversaries.

Who has done the better job? We also hear from SSN reporter Paul Gilmour on whether Tottenham will bounce back from a frustrating week against Leicester - and the latest on Gareth Bale's fitness and Dele Alli's future.

Plus Sky Sports feature writer Nick Wright assesses Man Utd's 3-2 win at Sheffield United and makes his Pitch for why Leeds could upset Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side at Old Trafford…

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