The remarkable statistic that Sheffield Wednesday may struggle to end v Burnley

The Owls take on Burnley at Turf Moor on Friday night as they look to bounce back from the gut-punch defeat to Coventry City, but not only do they face a team on a long unbeaten run, they face a team who hasn’t conceded a league goal since December 21st.

James Trafford, the Clarets’ goalkeeper, was last beaten in a 2-1 win over Watford late last year, and Scott Parker’s side are the first team in second-tier history to keep 11 clean sheets in a row. The draw against Preston North End at the weekend saw them reach over 1,000 minutes without being breached.

Impressively, Trafford has already kept more clean sheets than any other Championship goalkeeper since Wolverhampton Wanderers’ John Ruddy (24) in the 2017/18 campaign - and he only needs two more to beat the current divisional record set by Paddy Kenny in 2011 and then equalled by Ruddy. He has 13 matches to do so.

So the task awaiting Danny Röhl’s side in a few days’ time is no minor one, but as the team with the fifth best away record in the division this season, they’ll be backing themselves to try and cause an upset.

Parker’s outfit are currently third in the table behind Leeds United and Sheffield United, largely owing to the amount of draws they’ve picked up, but only three teams have managed to beat them so far this season – one of which was Premier League outfit, Wolverhampton Wanderers.

But the Owls actually have a decent record away at Burnley, scoring in all of their last 10 visits going back to 2002 - and have only lost once. They were, however, beaten on their last trip, losing 3-1 in 2015.

Scoring goals hasn’t been much of a problem for Wednesday of late, scoring in all of their last six, but six of the nine games they’ve failed to score in this season have come against the current top five. Also, the question of whether they can keep out their opponents is a completely different kettle of fish.

A shock victory in Lancashire could see the Owls go level with sixth-placed West Bromwich Albion in the table, but if that’s going to happen then they’re going to have to do something that no other Championship team in 2025 has been able to accomplish.

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