The 1988 Football League Trophy Final, known as the Sherpa Van Trophy Final for sponsorship reasons was the 5th final of the domestic football cup competition for teams from the Third and Fourth Divisions.
The match took place three weeks after the end of the domestic league programme. Wolves had already won the Fourth Division title in their second ever season at that level, and boasted the division's top goalscorer in Steve Bull (34 league goals; 52 in total). Burnley had finished tenth in the division and would take four further seasons before being promoted. Wolves had won both league games between the two clubs that season 3–0.
This fixture marked the only time two previous English champions have met in the final of this competition, and also made Wolves the only former champions to date to have won the trophy.