New Delhi: Burnley’s goalless draw against Preston marks the 24th time this season that the side have kept a clean sheet in the Championship and have now piled 1,000 minutes conceding a goal in the league. Burnley have one of the strongest defenses this season in English football and have set records even while more than a quarter of the season remains.
The Clarets have gone without conceding in 11 successive games in the Championship and are the first team ever to achieve this feat in the league. They are only the fourth team in the top four tiers of English football who have managed to maintain a clean sheet in 11 consecutive games, which includes, Millwall, York City and Reading. Manchester United had managed to go 14 games without conceding in 2008-09 when goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar hadn’t conceded for 22 hours overall.
The last time the second-flight team conceded was in December 2024 when Kwadwo Baah of Watford had scored in the 80th minute of the clash at Turf Moor, though the Clarets won 2-1. Burnley’s shot-stopper James Trafford has been one of the main reasons for the side’s amazing performance this season, facing 21 shots on target during his last 11 games including saving two penalty strikes from Sunderland’s Wilson Isidor.
James Trafford.
That’s it, that’s the tweet. pic.twitter.com/T4Ub5zeERk
— Burnley FC (@BurnleyOfficial) January 18, 2025
In these 11 games, none of the teams have managed to have more than three shots on target, finishing six of them in a goalless draw. Burnley’s latest feat in terms of conceding has defined their season overall. Overall they have conceded just nine times in 33 second-tier football and none of the teams have managed to score more than once.
In the Championship, they have only lost twice, both away fixtures for the Clarets. Sunderland and Millwall both managed to take maximum points against Burnley. Their 1-0 loss against Millwall in November was the last loss in the season. Currently, they are placed third in the points table, with 17 wins and 14 losses, collecting a total of 65 points, and behind the top-placed Sheffield United by just five points.
With 13 games remaining in the campaign, they are currently just one behind the Championship record of most clean sheets set by QPR in the 2010-11 season. In their last ten away games in the competition, they have kept nine clean sheets, which includes a streak of six away games without conceding. Only Bournemouth in 2021 managed to have seven consecutive clean sheets in away games while Stoke also managed six in 2020.
Only Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers are the only side who managed to score twice against Clarets, winning 2-0 from Goncalo Guedes scoring a brace in the EFL Cup outing.
Burnley’s defensive records they are closing on
There are still records that Burnely look set to achieve with certainty of earning a playoff place even if they fail to win a promotion to the top tier. In the Championship, Watford in 2020-21 and Preston in 2005-06 have conceded 30 goals, the least number of goals in a season. This is a record Burnely could achieve, considering they have conceded only times this season so far.
In all English leagues, Chelsea hold the record for conceding the least goals with 15 goals coming from them in their Premier League-winning 2004-05 season. Another record that seems close for the Clarets would be Wigan Athletic conceding just 27 in the 2017-18 season in an EFL season. John Ruddy for Wolves in 2017-2018 and Paddy Kenny for QPR in 2010-11 have both managed to keep 24 clean sheets, the most in the Championship and Trafford looks close to earning this feat.
Burnley have managed to keep clean sheets in 11 successive Championship games and overall 24 in the season. Here’s a look at the stats behind the amazing feat and the records waiting for the Clarets to break. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
