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Wolves 0 Burnley 0 - Report

Wolves had to settle for their second consecutive goalless draw after spurning several chances at home to Burnley.

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Adama Traore, making his first start since October 23, looked lively on the right flank and had a golden opportunity on the half-hour mark. A counter attack from a Burnley corner had him racing through and after choosing to go alone he smashed the crossbar with a thunderous effort.

Burnley had some half opportunities but did not threaten massively, as the Wolves defence did a good job of snuffing out the danger.

The three centre-backs excelled against Burnley’s physical forwards and kept their chances to a minimum.

In the second half Wolves had a flat start with limited chances but Traore again burst into life with some sensational solo runs, but the final ball and finish was missing.

But overall Wolves struggled to make the ball stick in the final third, to the home crowd’s frustration.

Too often they overplayed passes as they searched for the overload out wide, or they took too much time to shoot when the forwards needed to be more ruthless and selfish in front of goal.

Burnley held on in added time as Wolves charged forward looking for a late winner, which never came. To their credit, they defended well and nullified Wolves’ attacks.

As a result, the two sides shared the points as the game finished 0-0.

Bruno Lage made two changes to his side, sticking with the 3-4-3 formation.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Adama Traore has a shot on goal

Leander Dendoncker and Traore came in as Ruben Neves and Francisco Trincao dropped out.

Neves was an enforced change due to suspension, while Daniel Podence and Fernando Marcal missed out through Covid-19 and Willy Boly through injury.

That meant Lage named a youthful bench with a number of academy players, including Hugo Bueno who made his first appearance in a first team squad this season.

Sean Dyche also made two changes as his Burnley side set up in a 4-4-2 formation.

James Tarkowski and Ashley Westwood both missed out with suspension, meaning Nathan Collins and Jack Cork came in.

It was a fairly quiet opening 10 minutes as neither side were able to get the ball down and string together some passes. Wolves’ biggest opening saw Traore race down the right flank and get taken out by Ben Mee, who received an early booking.

A fluid attacking move did see Wolves register an effort on target, though, when Traore raced through the middle and played in Rayan Ait-Nouri. He passed backwards to Joao Moutinho who swung in a cross and found Nelson Semedo. The wing-back then crossed for Dendoncker who headed towards the top corner, but goalkeeper Nick Pope was equal to it.

Hwang Hee-chan was perhaps lucky not to see a red card when he lashed out at Matthew Lowton. The Burnley defender had caught the Wolves man with an elbow in an aerial challenge and both were booked when Hwang swung an arm at Lowton on the floor.

A few opportunities came and went with Hwang coming closest for Wolves with a decent effort. Maxwel Cornet should have done better with a simple through ball for Chris Wood, but he played it straight to Conor Coady.

Wolves should have been ahead after 30 minutes when a counter attack from a Burnley corner saw Traore racing into their box with just Lowton defending. Raul Jimenez was also in support but Traore went alone and smashed the underside of the crossbar with his effort.

Moments later Traore was charging forward again and this time he did play in Jimenez, but a superb Charlie Taylor tackle in the box denied him.

Then it was Jose Sa’s turn to make a big tackle as the goalkeeper stepped in to deny Cornet who has been played in after a quick free-kick.

The teams then entered the break drawing 0-0 with Wolves having spurned the biggest chance through Traore.

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Raul Jimenez (left) and Burnley's Charlie Taylor battle for the ball

In similar fashion to the start of the first half, the start of the second half was flat as both teams looked to get up to speed.

A chance did fall to Traore in the box, however, but he completely missed his effort and fell to the floor.

Wolves were beginning to up the tempo with the crowd’s help and another chance fell to Hwang who should have shot with his left foot inside the box but he tried to move it onto his right and the chance was lost.

Wolves’ momentum was almost scuppered when VAR checked for a possible red card on Jimenez for violent conduct on Collins. The check found there was no grounds for a sending off after Jimenez climbed on Collins, who was attempting to block him, and the defender then fell to the ground claiming he was caught in the face.

An incredible solo run from Traore almost set up Jimenez after 70 minutes, before Hwang saw an effort deflect inches wide of the far post.

Sa was then forced into a good save at his near post to deny Dwight McNeil.

Wolves pushed for a late winner in added time but could not find the right ball and had to settle for a point.

Teams

Wolves: Sa, Kilman, Coady, Saiss, Semedo, Dendoncker, Moutinho, Ait-Nouri, Hwang (Trincao, 84), Jimenez, Traore.

Subs not used: Ruddy, Moulden, Hoever, Bueno, Cundle, Campbell, Silva.

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Collins, Mee, Taylor, Gudmundsson (Vydra, 72), Cork, Brownhill, McNeil, Wood (Rodriguez, 59), Cornet (Lennon, 85).

Subs not used: Hennessey, Norris, Roberts, Pieters, Long, Thomas.