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Birmingham City and Burnley beaten as Championship club lead way in vital English football stat

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A shock Championship club are top of the league for clean sheets kept in 2025 across the Premier League and English Football League.

Defensive specialists Burnley and Birmingham City have often been praised for the number of games they have avoided conceding in over this calendar year.

Both sides will know just how vital their defensive record was to getting them promoted from the Championship and League One respectively last term, alongside their impressive attacking abilities.

But it’s one other club that got promoted in 2024/25 that has recorded the most clean sheets – and it’s fair to say it’s their manager’s bread and butter.

Chris Davies, Manager of Birmingham City, looks on
Photo by Morgan Harlow/Getty Images

Nathan Jones’ Charlton Athletic have the most clean sheets in 2025 in England’s top four tiers

When Nathan Jones took over at Charlton in February 2024, the club were facing a potential relegation to League Two for the first time in their history and were conceding goals like it was going out of fashion.

After saving them from the drop, Jones led them to promotion via the League One play-offs last season, with a large part of their success being down to their defending.

This has continued this season, and Charlton are now leading the way for clean sheets across England’s top four leagues in 2025 with 17 in total. Their latest came through their dramatic 1-0 win at Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United homecoming on Saturday.

Their total beats Burnley and AFC Wimbledon’s 16. Birmingham, who won League One with a record-breaking points total last term, come in third with 15 clean sheets in total.

Charlton Athletic have struck gold with former Luton Town defender Amari’i Bell

As was the case with Charlton’s promotion winning team, praise has to be spread around the squad rather than be aimed at an individual this season.

However, summer signing Amari’i Bell appears to have been a major coup for the Addicks already.

Coming into the starting XI in the opening 1-0 win against Watford raised eyebrows at The Valley as he took play-off hero Macaulay Gillesphey’s spot. However, Bell has been an excellent addition to Charlton’s back three following his free transfer from Jones’ previous club Luton.

His composure on the ball has impressed Charlton fans, with him calmly driving the ball away from on-running Sheffield United players as the Addicks defended their 1-0 lead in the dying moments summing up his impact. He will be vital to them reasserting themselves as a Championship club.