The Championship promotion race is about to hit the home straight, with three teams vying for the two automatic promotion places and the Premier League riches that accompany it.
Sheffield United currently lead the way, with Chris Wilder’s team overtaking Leeds United at the summit this weekend to open up a two-point gap above their Yorkshire rivals. Daniel Farke’s side have Lancashire rivals Burnley hot on their heels, with just goal difference keeping Scott Parker’s men out of the top two.
With Sunderland a further nine points behind the top three, it looks like being two from three, with the trio all desperate to avoid being the odd one out and dropping into the play-offs.
Burnley close on on 71-year record
Like the Blades, Parker’s Burnley side are looking to immediately bounce back to the top flight at the first time of asking and helped their cause with a hard-fought 1-0 win at home to Bristol City at the weekend.
That was the Clarets’ seventh 1-0 victory of the Championship season, and as the season has progressed, it has been clear what the former Fulham and Bournemouth bosses’ promotion blueprint has been.
Parker clearly believes that promotion back to the top flight can be achieved primarily through a water-tight defence, with his side having conceded just 11 goals in their 39 Championship games so far this term.
This has led to Burney registering 28 clean sheets so far, which has put them within striking distance of the record for the most clean sheets in a season in English football history.
Saturday’s latest blank leaves Burnley third in the all-time standings, with just Gillingham (29 clean sheets in 1995/95) and current record holders Port Vale ahead of them.
The Valiants managed 30 clean sheets in 1953/54, a record that has stood for 71 years, but is now under threat. Burnley have seven Championship games of the season remaining and would need two clean sheets to equal the record and three to break it.
Their remaining schedule sees them take on Coventry City (a), Derby County (h), Norwich City (h), Watford (a), Sheffield United (h), QPR (a) and Millwall (h).
Earlier this season Burnley became the first team in the history of the second tier to clock up 10 consecutive clean sheets, when they went 1,214 minutes without conceding on their way to 12 shutouts in a row – two short of Manchester United’s all-time English record of 14 consecutive cleansheets.
