Burnley just four games away from setting incredible new record never seen before in the Football League

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Burnley’s 2024/25 Championship campaign has been nothing short of incredible in so many ways.

The Clarets have already broken multiple records as a result of a remarkable defensive effort.

They went a record 12 league matches in a row without conceding, with goalkeeper James Trafford keeping a record 28 clean sheets and counting.

Their 13 goals conceded all season is still a long distance from the current Championship record of 30 goals conceded in an entire season, a record currently jointly held by Watford’s 2020/21 team and Preston North End in 2005/06.

The unprecedented defensive effort has led to criticism from some quarters of the Turf Moor outfit being ‘boring’, but Burnley fans will certainly take it if it means they return to the Premier League.

It’s a feat that looks more and more likely, especially with Hannibal Mejbri contributing to Burnley’s 2-1 win over Norwich City last night.

If they do go up, it could be in the midst of setting a very impressive new record in the Championship.

Burnley have never conceded twice in the Championship this season

Burnley are just four games away from having spent the entire season without conceding more than one goal in a game.

It’s no wonder they’ve been incredibly hard to beat, having only lost two games this season, as their defence has only conceded one goal in 13 separate games.

This has also meant they’ll likely break the record for goals conceded per game too, with it standing at 0.31 currently.

In fact, there’s only one team that’s put two goals past Burnley in the entire Championship season – Norwich City have done it across both of their fixtures against The Clarets.

Both games saw the Canaries defeated 2-1 by the Turf Moor side, so unfortunately for Norwich they weren’t able to take advantage of breaching the airtight defence.

Burnley have actually been beaten by more goals in the cups this season however, with Preston defeating them 3-0 in the FA Cup and Wolves managing a 2-0 win in the Carabao Cup.

The Clarets are facing Watford, Sheffield United, QPR and Millwall for their final four games of the season.

If they can manage to concede no more than one goal in each of those games, the astonishing record is theirs.

However, despite their record-breaking Championship campaign, experts aren’t predicting Burnley to do well if they’re promoted into the Premier League.

How did previous Championship record-breakers fare

Watford and Preston North End fans will have to enjoy their Championship defensive record while it lasts, as they’ll almost certainly be kissing it goodbye within a month.

Their record of 30 goals conceded would require Burnley to concede 17 goals in their next four games in order for it to stay standing, four more goals than the Clarets have let in all season.

Preston broke the record initially in the 2005/06 season, under the management of Billy Davies. However, that was as good as it got for them that season.

Unfortunately for the Lilywhites, Reading and Sheffield United also had extraordinary campaigns which saw them cruise to automatic promotion.

The Deepdale side had to settle for fourth place and the play-offs, where they were knocked out by Leeds United in the semi final.

Manager Billy Davies subsequently left the club for Derby County, who he infamously helped to a miserable record in the Premier League.

Preston didn’t build on the record-breaking campaign in his absence, missing out on the play-offs and conceding 53 goals in 2006/07.

Watford had more of a season to remember when they equalled the record in 2020/21.

In their first season back in the Championship after being relegated from the Premier League, they managed to bounce straight back up.

Finishing in 2nd place behind Norwich City, the Hornets still managed to get through two managers in typical fashion.

Starting the campaign with Vladimir Ivic, Xisco Munoz took over in December and led the club to promotion.

However, the following season was pretty miserable for Watford back in the Premier League.

They were relegated in 19th place, conceding 77 goals and going through three managers in Xisco, Claudio Ranieri and Roy Hodgson.

Burnley will have to be careful to avoid the same fate as the Hornets, especially given their Championship season has come off the back of a grim Premier League relegation already.

It’ll be fascinating to see if they can make a better fist of it this time, if they are promoted.