Burnley

Record-breaking Burnley will have their defensive prowess tested in a Lancashire derby at Preston North End on Saturday (12:30 GMT).

The Clarets became the first team in second tier history to keep 10 straight clean sheets when they overcame Hull City 2-0 on Wednesday and have not conceded a league goal in 910 minutes dating back to 21 December.

Scott Parker's side are third, three points adrift of Sheffield United in the second automatic promotion place while Paul Heckingbottom's Lilywhites lie 15th, though only seven points shy of the play-off places.

These sides will also lock-horns in the FA Cup fifth round in a fortnight's time.

• Preston are winless in their past four league games against Burnley (D2 L2); they haven't endured a longer league run without a win against them since March 1979 (8 games).

• Burnley are unbeaten on each of their past three trips to Preston in the league (W2 D1), after losing six of their prior seven league visits to Deepdale (D1 L6).

• Preston are unbeaten at Deepdale in their previous eight league games (W3 D5); it's their longest run since November 2019 (11 games).

• Burnley have kept eight clean sheets in their last nine away league games, including each of their last five (W6 D3); since the rebrand in 2004-05, only Bournemouth in October 2021 (7) and Stoke in December 2020 (6) have enjoyed a longer run of successive away clean sheets in the Championship.

• Burnley's Zian Flemming has scored five goals in his past six away Championship games, while he's scored six goals in five Championship games against Preston.

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley manager Scott Parker spoke to BBC Radio Lancashire after their 2-0 Championship victory over Hull City.

"I thought we were outstanding tonight. I thought first half, we were really dominant, carved Hull open.

"We moved the ball with real diligence, technical ability and created numerous chances.

"Really pleasing that we got an early goal. Overall, I think it is well-documented on the defensive side, we are rock solid.

"We have done that consistently over the course of this season and again tonight. But for large parts of tonight, we were a real dominant team."

The draw for the FA Cup fifth round has been made. Here is a list of all the ties involving Championship teams left in the competition.

Games will be played over the first weekend of March.

• Aston Villa v Cardiff City

• Crystal Palace v Millwall

• Manchester City v Plymouth

• Preston North End v Burnley

You can find the full draw here.

Burnley will look to make up ground in the battle for automatic promotion against relegation-threatened Hull City on Wednesday (19:45 GMT).

The Clarets knocked out Premier League side Southampton in their 1-0 FA Cup win on the weekend, while their last outing in the Championship served Oxford United boss Gary Rowett his first defeat with the U's.

Hull City, however, lost against Stoke to see themselves hovering just one point above the relegation zone.

• Burnley are unbeaten across their last six league games against Hull City (W2 D4), conceding one or fewer goals in each of those matches.

• Hull City have lost 10 of their last 14 away league games against Burnley (W2 D2), though each of their last two visits to Turf Moor have ended in 1-1 draws.

• Burnley have kept nine consecutive clean sheets in the Championship – only seven teams in Football League history have kept 10 in a row, most recently Torquay United in League Two between April and August 2010. No side in second tier history has ever kept 10 clean sheets in a row.

• Hull have won their last three away league games without conceding, having lost five in a row beforehand. The Tigers have never won four away games in a row while keeping a clean sheet each time in their league history.

• Burnley's 31 Championship games in 2024-25 have seen just 46 goals scored (37 for, 9 against) – at an average of just 1.48 per game, that is the lowest goals-per-game ratio for a team in a season in Football League history.

Burnley's defensive record is unbelievable, but they have got a problem at the other end of the pitch.

They do not score many goals and it appears there is an element of Burnley fans who are quite bored watching Scott Parker's team.

Their situation is the same as Leeds, in that they are one of four teams chasing one of the two automatic promotion spots in the Championship.

Again, they have got a midweek league game coming up, at Hull City on Wednesday, which will be their priority. I think Parker will make changes here and they will fall foul of that.

Southampton will not be complaining, because they have won so few games against anyone this season.

Saints picked up a rare win at Ipswich last weekend, and at home they have managed only three victories in all competitions - Stoke City in the Carabao Cup, Everton in the league and Swansea City in the FA Cup third round.

To say they have momentum after beating Ipswich is probably pushing it, and they are still a long way adrift at the bottom of the table, but a decent FA Cup run would give their fans a bit of escapism in what has been a miserable season.

Sutton's prediction: 1-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Image source, Getty Images

Burnley's new signings Marcus Edwards and Jaydon Banel are likely to make their debuts in the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Southampton, according to boss Scott Parker.

The Clarets face the Premier League's bottom side, who are just two places above them in the English football pyramid, at St Mary's on Saturday afternoon.

Edwards, 26, has joined on loan until the end of the season from Portuguese side Sporting, while Banel, 20, signed from Ajax for an undisclosed fee.

"It gives us a chance to freshen things up, the likelihood is we can integrate the new players into this fixture," Parker told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"Give them some minutes [because] the new signings have lacked a bit of game time.

"You've got to give the players coming in an understanding of what is expected of them, added to the fact that players coming in haven't played a lot of football - and that is what a January window brings.

"The last thing I want to do is push them too hard and we lose players, so we need to tread carefully.

"But I want to get them up to speed as quickly as I can because these players have been brought in to help us for the remaining part of the season."

Image source, Rex Features

Burnley keeper James Trafford has been named the Championship player of the month for January.

The 22-year-old did not concede a single goal, keeping six clean sheets and saving two Wilson Isidor penalties in the dying minutes to ensure a point against promotion-rivals Sunderland.

Burnley manager Scott Parker told the EFL website, external: "This is well deserved. James has been incredible all season, not just this month. Since I arrived he has been a top professional and a rock for the team."

Sky Sports' EFL pundit Don Goodman said: "On individual performance, it would be difficult to have a more perfect month than James Trafford.

"Burnley's defensive stability is going to be the key in their bid for promotion, and Trafford is central to that."

Coventry midfielder Jamie Allen, Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown and Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson were also up for the award.

Burnley travel to Premier League side Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday afternoon (15:00 GMT).

The Clarets' best recent run in the competition was in 2022-23 when they reached the quarter-final - and is the only time they have made it that far since 2002-03 when they were also knocked out at the same stage.

• Southampton have won just two of their past 11 matches against Burnley (D4 L5) – all in the Premier League between 2017 and 2022 – with both wins coming in the 2020-21 season.

• The two previous FA Cup ties between Southampton and Burnley were in 1908 and 2014 and both were won by the Saints, winning 2-1 away in the first round in 1907-08 and 4-3 at home in the third round in 2013-14.

• Southampton have won eight of their past 10 home matches in the FA Cup (L2), winning the past three in a row at St Mary's all by a 3+ goal margin without conceding.

• Burnley have been eliminated in nine of their past 11 FA Cup ties against Premier League sides while playing outside of the top-flight at the time; the two progressions in this time came during seasons they won promotion, in 2008-09 against West Brom and 2022-23 against Bournemouth.

• Burnley's Zian Flemming has been involved in four goals in his past two FA Cup matches (3 goals, 1 assist), scoring two extra-time goals in the Clarets' 3-1 win over Reading in this season's third round.

Image source, Getty Images

Coventry midfielder Jamie Allen, Oxford United defender Ciaron Brown, Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson and Burnley stopper James Trafford are the four nominees for the Championship's player of the month award for January.

Allen was injured when Frank Lampard first took over at the Sky Blues but his return to action helped City climb the table with his energy, ability to break up play and influence leading to him being handed the captain's armband.

Oxford's form since Gary Rowett took over has caught the eye and Brown has been at the heart of their improved defensive displays, helping the U's keep three clean sheets in six games in January and netting a neat equaliser against Luton to boot.

Black Cats keeper Patterson helped Sunderland keep three clean sheets in five games during the month, saving a penalty at 0-0 in an eventual win against Sheffield United, producing a brilliant one-handed stop in the goalless draw at Burnley and helping preserve a 1-0 win at Derby.

Clarets keeper Trafford was unbeatable in January with a pristine record of six clean sheets with the highlights coming in that stalemate against Burnley's promotion rivals as he saved two Wilson Isidor penalties in the dying minutes against Sunderland as well as making a crucial late stop against Leeds.