Burnley break insane Championship record under Scott Parker – but it highlights their biggest weakness

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Sheffield United, Leeds, Burnley, and Sunderland have established themselves as a breakaway top four in this season’s Championship; a cut above the rest.

The dominance of the current top four in the Championship is perhaps best demonstrated by the fact that, ahead of Leeds’ clash with Sunderland on Monday night, there is an eight-point gap between league leaders Sheffield United and the fourth-place Black Cats, but an 11-point difference between fourth spot and fifth-place Blackburn Rovers.

There is then a mere six-point gap between Rovers and Watford in tenth, which again truly paints the picture of just how dominant this term’s automatic promotion chasers have been.

Arguably, Leeds have been the most eye-catching side in the Championship this season, as they have collectively notched an incredible return of 66 goals in 32 second tier outings, while their cutting edge was brutally portrayed during their emphatic 7-0 triumph over Cardiff City earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Burnley, who currently sit in third place, have got tongues wagging due to their defensive displays as they have now maintained eight consecutive clean sheets across all competitions.

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Incredible Burnley record broken against Preston

But, focusing solely on league action following their 0-0 draw with Lancashire rivals Preston North End on Saturday afternoon, Scott Parker’s side have now kept 11 back-to-back clean sheets in the Championship, which is a new second-tier record.

Just last week, we looked at how James Trafford is close to breaking a Championship record for clean sheets in a season. At that point, he needed three more clean sheets to tie the record, and he’s now just one away from that feat.

The Clarets should be incredibly proud of their backline’s much-talked-about exploits in recent weeks, especially since three of those shutouts arrived against their fellow top-four sides as they defeated Sheffield United 2-0 on Boxing Day before 0-0 draws with both Leeds and Sunderland last month.

However, Burnley’s defensive record alone may not be enough to book their spot in next season’s Premier League, as all three of their automatic promotion rivals have conceded an average of fewer than one goal a game.

Leeds, who boast the second-best defence in the Championship, may have conceded 10 more than Parker’s men, but the fact they have allowed their opponents to score on just 19 occasions in 32 league fixtures is certainly nothing to be sniffed at.

Additionally, Sheffield United have let in just 23 goals in 33 second-tier games this term, while Sunderland’s record of 28 goals conceded in 32 Championship outings is also respectable.

Furthermore, Burnley have scored far fewer goals than all of their promotion rivals, as their return of 39 goals in 33 fixtures is all but dwarfed by the 66 Leeds have managed in one less game and is also less than the 47 and 49 scored by the Blades and the Black Cats respectively.

In fact, Parker’s men have even scored two fewer goals than 18th-place Portsmouth, which points to a deeper issue for the Lancashire club.

• READ MORE: Sheffield United desperate to hit Championship target as worrying record could see them fail at Premier League return

Lack of focal point could be reason for Burnley’s attacking struggles

It is clear to see that Burnley have not notched the sort of attacking numbers managed by their top-four rivals in the second tier this term.

The reason for that could be because the Clarets have been deploying Zian Flemming, who operated as an attacking midfielder with former club Millwall, as an out-and-out striker.

Flemming has scored seven goals in 24 appearances this term and is Burnley’s second-highest scorer in the Championship behind central midfielder Josh Brownhill, who has scored nine. The ex-Millwall man has also created just one assist in the league this season.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	33	22	6	5	47	23	24	70
2	LeedsLeeds	32	20	9	3	66	19	47	69
3	BurnleyBurnley	33	17	14	2	39	9	30	65
4	SunderlandSunderland	32	17	11	4	49	28	21	62
5	BlackburnBlackburn	33	15	6	12	39	31	8	51
6	West BromWest Brom	33	11	15	7	42	31	11	48

Meanwhile, Leeds’ top goal scorer and main striker, Joel Piroe, has managed a more impressive return of 14 goals and six assists in 32 Championship outings.

Flemming’s attacking numbers are also less desirable than that of Sunderland forward Wilson Isidor, who has scored 11 this season.

There is no doubt that the Clarets deserve the plaudits they are getting for their tremendous defensive displays, but they may have to step-up their efforts in the final third in order to keep up with their automatic promotion rivals.