Burnley v Sheffield Wednesday Tips: Back Clarets to extend clean sheet record | OneFootball

EFL Championship

Burnley have kept 11 successive Championship clean sheets

Burnley welcome Sheffield Wednesday to Turf Moor on Friday night and Betfair writer Mark O'Haire is backing the Clarets to extend their record-breaking clean sheet record.

Betfair Football Superboost

Back Matheus Cunha to have one or more shots on target when Wolverhampton Wanderers travel to Bournemouth on Saturday at the super-boosted price of 1/1 from 1/2.

The Cherries are 12 places above Wolves in the Premier League but the Brazilian has been a big threat for the visitors all season, with 14 shots on target in his last six matches. With 30 this season, Cunha is in the top five players in the Premier League for shots on target and averages 1.5 every 90 minutes.

Burnley v Sheffield WednesdayFriday February 21, 20:00Live on Sky Sports

Burnley extend Championship record

Burnley kept a remarkable 11th consecutive Championship clean sheet on Saturday as they were held to a 0-0 draw at rivals Preston in a typically frantic and feisty Lancashire derby. The Clarets missed the chance to go second in the standings as they once again lacked a ruthless streak in front of goal, playing out a 12th goalless game of the campaign.

Scott Parker's side did have the better of the opportunities, with Lyle Foster missing two excellent opportunities either side of the interval. Both sides piled forward in search of a late winner in an increasingly fractious match, though only three attempts were on-target across the contest as the sides were forced to share the spoils at Deepdale.

Speaking post-match, Parker felt his side's profligate finishing denied them top honours. He said, "Preston make it very difficult and you've got to stand up to a certain fight. The facts are that we didn't get the result and we're disappointed that we didn't win the game because we fully deserved to, but we didn't put our chances away."

Rohl bemoans Wednesday's finishing

Sheffield Wednesday conceded a dramatic stoppage-time goal to suffer a 2-1 reverse at home to fellow play-off hopefuls Coventry last weekend. Owls goalkeeper James Beadle's error in the 92nd minute proved decisive although Wednesday did have the better of the game despite trailing after 16 minutes of the match. An own goal had brought them level.

Post-match, Wednesday chief Danny Rohl bemoaned his side's failure to convert an impressive display into three points at Hillsborough. He said, "It's hard to take. We dropped a minimum two points when I look to the whole game today. Even with a point you could be disappointed because we were on the front foot, created a lot of chances, entertained."

The Owls were boosted by captain Barry Bannan's return from injury against Coventry, though the Wednesday star is being assessed this week after picking up a knock on his return. Meanwhile, the visitors are hoping to have winger Anthony Musaba back into the mix after he spent a spell out with an injury, whilst Josh Windass is pushing for a start.

Clarets odds-on favourites

Burnley are unbeaten in each of their last seven league showdowns with Sheffield Wednesday (W4-D3-L0) dating back to 2009. However, at Turf Moor, the Clarets have tended to struggle when welcoming the Owls - Burnley boast just a solitary success in their last nine home games against Wednesday (W1-D4-L4) since 2000-01.

Burnley 1.75 have been beaten just twice this term, neither of which came in front of their own supporters. The Clarets are W8-D8-L0 at Turf Moor with an extraordinary defensive record underpinning their promotion assault - Scott Parker's side have shipped only nine league goals in 33 overall outings and that includes 12 shutouts in 16 home encounters.

Sheffield Wednesday 5.60 sit only three points off the top-six, though the Owls have been dogged by inconsistency of late, returning W3-D4-L4 in their past 11 Championship dates. The visitors are W2-D2-L9 when facing the top-10 this term and rated 15th on Expected Points (xP) across the campaign, with a negative Expected Goals (xG) process.

Back Burnley to win to nil

It's impossible to build a bet for Friday's fixture that doesn't revolve around Burnley's record-breaking defensive record. The Clarets are the first team in second-tier history to keep 11 consecutive clean sheets. No team has scored more than a single goal against them all season and the hosts have recorded 24 (73%) shutouts in their 33 Championship fixtures.

Considering Sheffield Wednesday are W1-D0-L7 against top-six teams this term - failing to even score in all six of their games against the current top-five - it makes sense to oppose the Owls from scoring. But with only odds-on quotes available for Wednesday to blank at Turf Moor, I'm happier taking an interest in the 6/4 on Burnley to win to nil here.

As already mentioned, it's proven a profitable formula in all five of Sheff Wed's meetings with the top-five in the Championship this season, including the reverse game against Burnley. It's also banked in six of the Clarets' 13 home match-ups with teams outside of the play-off places as they've conceded just three goals in that same 13-game sample.

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Back Burnley to win to nil @ 6/4