Scott Parker cannot ignore big Burnley FC problem that will have Sheffield Wednesday licking their lips | OneFootball

The Clarets have struggled in front of goal on their travels of late, and the Owls will be looking to take advantage this weekend

Burnley will return to Championship action with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday this weekend, with the Clarets looking to continue their good start to life back in the second tier.

The Lancashire side sit among the leading pack as we return from the international break, with five wins and three draws from their nine outings seeing them sit just a point behind the leading duo of Sheffield United and Sunderland.

While Scott Parker’s side have been churning out the results, their form in front of goal has been nothing to write home about, with just five goals in their last seven Championship outings.

That lack of cutting edge has been more evident on their travels of late, where just one goal in their last three outings has seen them frustrated in the final third, a fact that will leave Wednesday full of optimism ahead of this weekend’s clash at Hillsborough.

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Parker has reduced his side’s games down to the finest of margins in recent weeks, with a reliance on a top tier defence proving to be the underpinning of their supposed promotion challenge.

With the Turf Moor outfit conceding just four goals all season, matches have seen little in the way of goalmouth action at either end of the pitch, following a rip-roaring start to life back in the second tier.

An opening day 4-1 victory over Luton Town at Kenilworth Road painted a picture that Parker was going to have his side firing on all cylinders going forward, something that was emphasised with a 5-0 victory over Cardiff City the week after.

But since then, the goals have proved hard to come by, with a lack of clear goalscoring opportunities underlining that it is not just a striker issue, but a creativity issue across the whole side.

Only three sides have a lower xG figure than Burnley this season, with Plymouth Argyle, Preston North End and Cardiff City the only ones producing fewer clear-cut chances as per the underlying numbers, which only goes to prove that their early start could prove to be unsustainable.

While the results continue to come there will be plenty of Clarets fans happy to put the blinkers on and ignore what is in front of their eyes, but a trip to Hillsborough could be trickier than originally anticipated for the former Premier League outfit, as their recent form proves.

Burnley’s Championship goalscoring form away from home

Since that opening day salvo at Kenilworth Road, Burnley have only mustered one league goal away from Turf Moor this season, with Luca Koleosho’s breakaway strike against Leeds United enough to see them earn all three points at Elland Road.

While the result that day was in their favour, it has followed a similar pattern of Parker’s side when they are on their travels so far, with a lack of cutting edge up top costing them dear.

When travelling to the Stadium of Light earlier this season, four shots resulted in an xG of 0.13 across the 90 minutes against Sunderland, despite chasing a 1-0 deficit for the better part of an hour in the north-east.

Even in the stalemate at the Kassam Stadium the last time they went on their travels, they couldn’t convert any of their 14 shots against Oxford, in a match where they dominated possession, with Andreas Hountondji spurning a golden opportunity at the end.

In Sheffield Wednesday, Burnley will come up against a side who have been resurgent in recent weeks, with the Owls unbeaten in three heading into the clash at Hillsborough.

Victories over West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City have proven they have what it takes to compete at the level, after a winless run of five league games saw them struggling to find the back of the net.

With the wind in their sails, the Yorkshire outfit will fancy their chances of giving a misfiring Burnley side a run for their money this weekend, and if the Clarets continue in the way they have been, it is only a matter of time before they get caught out on the road.