Burnley have captured FPL managers&#8217; attention after a record-breaking defensive Championship season &#8211; but was it as good as it seemed?
The Clarets conceded 16 goals in 46 games and kept 30 clean sheets, both all-time league records.
Interest in budget Burnley FPL defenders could be high as a result &#8211; but here we take a look at the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> behind their extraordinary season to see how strong their back line really is.
Our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/burnley-team-preview-fpl-2025-26">Burnley team preview</a> covers everything from their predicted lineup to star players and set-piece takers.
<h3>🤖 Hub AI&#8217;s quick summary 🤖</h3>
Simplicity and speed are among Fantasy Football Hub&#8217;s core values, so many of our articles this season will come with a quick &#8216;Hub AI&#8217; summary for those who want the answer &#8211; fast.
Read the full article for the detailed picture 👇
<ul>
<li>👀Burnley conceded just 16 goals but they should have let in more, according to their expected data, which was worse than Leeds&#8217;</li>
<li>🧤Improved goalkeeper James Trafford prevented around 12 or 13 goals and saved two penalties in one game</li>
<li>😬Stepping up to the Premier League and keeping hold of key players are significant challenges, with a repeat unlikely</li>
</ul>
<audio class="wp-audio-shortcode" id="audio-73179-1" preload="none" style="width: 100%;" controls="controls"><source type="audio/mpeg" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-stunned-FPL-.m4a?_=1" /><a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-stunned-FPL-.m4a">https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-stunned-FPL-.m4a</a></audio>

<a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/join?via=2025content">Join the Hub &#8211; win your mini-league or your money back</a>
 
<h2>Burnley&#8217;s defence: The stats</h2>
Burnley&#8217;s defence was unmatched in the Championship, with their 16 goals nearly half that conceded by Leeds (30).
Their 30 clean sheets tied the record set by Port Vale all the way back in 1953/54.
Only Chelsea have conceded fewer goals in English football history. The Blues let in 15 on the way to winning the Premier League in 2004/05 &#8211; but given they played fewer matches, Burnley&#8217;s per-game figure is better.
The Clarets went on a run of 12 games without conceding &#8211; a staggering 1,132 minutes stretching over three months. They fell just short of Manchester United&#8217;s record of 14 in the Premier League in 2008/09.
But before getting too carried away, context is important.
Fantasy managers often look at the data to put unusual achievements in perspective &#8211; and Burnley&#8217;s expected goals conceded (xGC) paints an interesting picture.
Scott Parker&#8217;s side&#8217;s xGC was 39.1 &#8211; a significant difference of 23.1. This suggests the Clarets significantly over-performed.
Leeds also had a much better xGC of 29.6.
<div id="attachment_73182" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73182" class="size-full wp-image-73182" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-promotion.jpg" alt="Burnley's promotion celebrations. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="699" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-promotion.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-promotion-300x205.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Burnley-promotion-768x524.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Burnley&#8217;s promotion celebrations. Picture by Getty Images</div>
<h2>Why did Burnley&#8217;s defence do so well?</h2>
There were a number of things that helped Burnley to a record-breaking season.
<h3>James Trafford&#8217;s improvement</h3>
Trafford struggled in his debut season at Burnley, with one of the worst save percentages in the Premier League (65.7%).
But Burnley largely had him to thank for their defensive solidity in the Championship.
He led the league for save percentage, with a major improvement to 84.5%.
This is not full story though, as it does not tell us about the quality of shots he faced.
We can get a better idea of this using expected goals on target (xGOT), which measures the chance of a shot on target resulting in a goal.
According to <a href="https://www.fotmob.com/leagues/48/stats/season/23744/players/_goals_prevented/championship">FotMob data</a>, Trafford faced 28.6 xGOT &#8211; and having let in just 16, he effectively prevented between 12 and 13 goals. No other Championship goalkeeper was more valuable to their team in this regard.
Elsewhere, <a href="https://www.burnleyexpress.net/sport/football/needed-burnley-boss-scott-parker-makes-james-trafford-claim-following-leeds-united-win-4782859">improvements in commanding his area</a> were noted, while Trafford and Parker both spoke of rising to the challenge of a difficult first season.
<div id="attachment_73175" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73175" class="size-full wp-image-73175" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford.jpg" alt="James Trafford - Burnley's goalkeeper during their promotion campaign. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/James-Trafford-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />James Trafford. Picture by Getty Images</div>
&nbsp;
Trafford told BBC Radio Lancashire:
<blockquote>
&#8220;Last year, the average age of a goalkeeper in the Premier League was 28, 29 so I was nine years off the average,&#8221; he told BBC Radio Lancashire.
&#8220;It shows it is a massive experience-based role for a goalkeeper. But I improved massively and I&#8217;m aware of that.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve improved in a lot of things, whether it&#8217;s on the ball, off the ball, defending space or the area, personality, confidence. And I&#8217;ll continue to improve.&#8221;
</blockquote>
How Trafford does on his return to the Premier League may be key to Burnley&#8217;s success but there are signs he is a better player than his last time in the top flight.
The shot-stopper has however been linked with a move to other Premier League clubs and would be a huge gap to fill if he did leave.
<div id="attachment_73181" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73181" class="size-full wp-image-73181" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker.jpg" alt="Scott Parker. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="702" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker-300x206.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Scott-Parker-768x527.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Scott Parker. Picture by Getty Images</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>Ever-present central defensive duo</h3>
It was not all about Trafford.
The England international had a strong and ever-present central defensive duo in front of him in Maxime Esteve and CJ Egan-Riley. The trio all made the Championship Team of the Season.
Frenchman Esteve started all 46 of Burnley&#8217;s league games and is another player Parker could struggle to keep hold of &#8211; but he looks set to stay for now.
The 22-year-old had been linked with numerous clubs including Bayern Munich, where he would link up with Vincent Kompany, who brought him to Burnley in 2024.
Egan-Riley&#8217;s future meanwhile is settled, with the centre-back joining Marseille.
<div id="attachment_73180" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73180" class="size-full wp-image-73180" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maxime-Esteve.jpg" alt="Maxime Esteve. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maxime-Esteve.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maxime-Esteve-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Maxime-Esteve-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Maxime Esteve. Picture by Getty Images</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>A healthy slice of luck</h3>
Runs like Burnley&#8217;s usually need a degree of luck &#8211; and so it proved in their 1,132 minute clean sheet spell.
Trafford saved two late penalties from Wilson Isidor in the 0-0 draw against Sunderland in January.
A penalty usually amounts to around 0.79 expected goals (xG), suggesting the odds of scoring significantly outweigh the probability of a save.
So for Trafford to deny the Sunderland striker twice in one game is highly unusual.
He was helped by one of the spot-kicks being of low quality, assigned an xGOT of 0.59 by FotMob, however the other was rated 0.81, indicating it was a strong save.
<div id="attachment_73183" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73183" class="size-full wp-image-73183" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Trafford-penalty-save.jpg" alt="James Trafford saved two penalties in one game. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="668" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Trafford-penalty-save.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Trafford-penalty-save-300x196.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Trafford-penalty-save-768x501.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />James Trafford saved two penalties in one game. Picture by Getty Images</div>
<h2>How will Burnley&#8217;s defence do in the Premier League?</h2>
Burnley&#8217;s defensive prospects will firstly depend on how many of their star players they can keep hold of.
But even if all of them stay, FPL managers should not expect a repeat of their heroics.
As discussed in our analysis of the promoted teams&#8217; chances of staying up, the <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a> show the Premier League is a huge step up.
Over the last two seasons, the Premier League newcomers have each conceded an average of 40 more goals in the top flight. All six sides have gone straight back down.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-tips-should-we-target-promoted-teams">Will Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland have enough to stay up?</a></li>
</ul>
Ultimately, Burnley&#8217;s season has to be seen as a statistical anomaly.
Even if Trafford repeats his goals prevented performances, the Clarets still should have conceded more than they did.
Combine a goals conceded record more in line with their expected data and account for the Premier League being a tougher environment and the odds are against them keeping too many clean sheets.
This doesn&#8217;t mean Burnley defenders could be solid budget picks &#8211; but starting them week in, week out expecting big things is perhaps unwise.
&nbsp;
<h3>Follow the Hub</h3>
🐤<a href="https://twitter.com/FFH_HQ">Twitter</a> 
📱<a href="https://www.facebook.com/ffootballhub/">Facebook</a> 
💻<a href="https://www.youtube.com/c/FantasyFootballHub/?sub_confirmation=1">YouTube</a> 
🤳<a href="https://www.instagram.com/FFH_HQ/">Instagram</a> 
⏰<a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@FFH_HQ">Tiktok </a>
And view all our latest fantasy football tips on our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/" aria-label="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/">homepage</a>

James Trafford saved two penalties in one game. Picture by Getty Images

FPL tips: Is Burnley’s defence as good as it looks?

Win at FPL

Community & tools