Mark Langdon: The numbers behind Burnley's remarkable defence

Rugby league's new top-flight season kicked off on Thursday with a remarkable 0-0 draw between champions Wigan Warriors and Leigh Leopards.

It was the first match to end pointless in Super League's 29-year history before Leigh secured victory in golden-point extra-time.

My first reaction was to check that Burnley manager Scott Parker had not switched sports and taken charge of the visitors because, as we all know, a leopard can't change its spots and if it works in football then what is to stop his defensive masterplans from working elsewhere too.

Never mind rugby league, what about if Parker penned a contract to coach in the NBA? 

Miami Heat restricted Chicago Bulls to just 49 points in 1999, but Parker would see that as an easy target, while those who believe the current Bazball approach isn't proper Test cricket would love to see Scotty get hold of the England side. An over might look something like this: Leave, forward defensive, leave, leave, leave, cover drive – waiting, no!

It is fair to say that Parker did not leave an overly positive impression on his previous three clubs, Fulham, Bournemouth and Club Brugge, despite leading the two English teams to Premier League promotion.

Two wins in 12 games with Brugge did not go down well either and a 7-1 aggregate loss to Benfica in the Champions League showed obvious flaws, before a chastening experience back in the Premier League with Bournemouth saw his side humiliated 9-0 in his final match in charge of the Cherries.

From conceding nine at Anfield, Parker's Burnley have conceded nine in 32 Championship matches this season and a new army of followers have latched on to Burnley's rearguard excellence with no goalscorer a popular punt. Banking on England Under-21 international James Trafford to keep a clean sheet has proven to be another valuable path to profit.

Scott Parker is prioritising defence over attack as he seeks to restore Burnley's Premier League statusCredit: AFC Bournemouth via Getty Images

No goalscorer is an 11-2 chance in Burnley's lunchtime meeting with Preston on Saturday, while the Clarets are 11-5  to win to nil at Deepdale and a Trafford clean sheet is 23-20. 

Burnley have managed a remarkable ten straight Championship clean sheets, during which time they have played all of the other members of the top four in Sheffield United, Leeds and Sunderland. The latter failed to find a way past Trafford despite being awarded two penalties.

Backing no goalscorer has clicked six time in Burnley's last ten league matches, with five goalless draws and a 1-0 success over Oxford which came courtesy of a Michal Helik own goal. Overall, ten of their 32 Championship contests have finished 0-0 and their next most frequent score is 1-0, which has happened on six occasions, with their total goals per game coming in at a stingy 1.50.

Over 2.5 backers in Burnley matches have collected in just 19 per cent of their fixtures and, while it may not be the prettiest football to watch, it is enhancing the growing reputation of Trafford, who had a difficult season in the Premier League last season. 

Centre-back Maxime Esteve was linked with a deadline-day switch to Tottenham, which might have tested his defensive capabilities, and Parker is clearly plotting a different path to the Premier League from leaders Leeds, who have scored 27 more goals for just five more points. 

The bigger question is whether this is sustainable? According to fbref.com, Burnley's expected goal difference is 0.25, more than a full goal behind Leeds and not even in the top six in the Championship, while their xG against is 26.1 compared to the actual tally of nine goals conceded. The Clarets are conceding only 0.12 goals per shot on target compared to a slicker side like Middlesbrough, who are at a rate of 0.38.   

Who knows if it can continue, but it might not be fun finding out.  

Read more from Mark Langdon: 

Best bets for every Champions League playoff tie 

Don't be sucked in by home and away form 

Two outsiders worth backing to win the FA Cup

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.