Sitting inside the relegation zone and losing four of their first six games, Burnley’s start to the season paints a fairly predictable picture to the outside world.

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But as always, it doesn’t tell the whole story.

For a start, Burnley have been handed a gruelling start to the season, emerging empty-handed from their games against reigning champions Liverpool, as well as Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham inside their opening six games.

And yet, Scott Parker’s side were agonisingly close to claiming points against both Liverpool and United – only be denied by gut-wrenching stoppage-time penalties on both occasions.

Nevertheless, a four-point haul from the other two fixtures, beating Sunderland and drawing with Nottingham Forest, represents a steady start to the campaign.

But forget their points tally for a minute, what does the underlying data say about Burnley’s start?

Obviously the usual caveats apply, we’ve only played six games which provides a small sample size and Burnley’s stats will be inevitably low given their difficult start to the season, but here’s what the numbers tell us:

Burnley are coming off the back of a 5-1 defeat to Man City (Photo by DARREN STAPLES/AFP via Getty Images)

Team data

According to Opta stats, Parker’s side ought to be sitting bottom of the table, rather than 18th, but sit higher thanks to the under-performing West Midland duo of Aston Villa and Wolves.

After six games, Burnley have produced the lowest xG (4.53) of any side in the top flight. In reality, they’ve scored six goals, so they’re actually outperforming their xG so far. But if they are to continue this trend over the course of a season, they will struggle to score on a consistent basis without creating better quality chances.

Burnley have produced the joint-lowest number of shots so far this season with 51, level with Brentford. The Clarets, Villa, Newcastle and Sunderland have found the target just 16 times so far this season, also the joint-lowest.

Their average xG per shot is relatively low at 0.09, but not the lowest. To compare, Brighton have the highest xG per shot at 0.16.

There is cause for optimism though, as the side with the lowest xG per shot is the team they face on Sunday in Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s men have also produced an xG of just 4.53, the second lowest in the division behind Burnley.

But to prove that data isn’t the be-all and end-all, Manchester United have produced the highest xG with 12.21, yet sit 14th in the table with Ruben Amorim consistently under pressure.

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Burnley’s xG against is also the worst in the league at 12.50. Manchester United have the second worst figure with 9.35.

This is a number that needs to be reduced when they face statistically lower quality opposition in the coming weeks, facing the likes of Villa, Leeds, Wolves and West Ham.

Burnley could also do better from set pieces, scoring just once from their first six games. Arsenal, somewhat unsurprisingly, top the list with seven. Only Man City have scored fewer than Burnley, having yet to notch.

Burnley’s average possession (33.4%) is the lowest in the division, while they’ve also made the lowest amount of successful passes. The data tell us 37.7% of their passes are forward ones, second only to Brentford.

The Clarets are pressing well, with four of their 24 turnovers resulting in shots. Only seven sides boast better pressing stats.

Unlike two years ago under Vincent Kompany, Burnley are avoiding a high number of errors leading to oppositions shots or goals. Just three errors have led to shots so far this season, compared to Everton with eight.

Player data

In terms of individual data, Jaidon Anthony is among the best-performing players, scoring four times from an xG of just 2.16.

Only Jarrod Bowen of West Ham and Brentford’s Igor Thiago have out-performed their xG by more.

Lyle Foster is Burnley’s next representative on the list, with an xG of 0.93.

At the other end of the pitch, Josh Cullen, Maxime Esteve and Hjalmar Ekdal all feature in the top 10 of Premier League players to make the most blocks

Esteve and Ekdal also feature in the top 10 for clearances, proving just how busy they’ve been.

Martin Dubravka has made the most saves in the division with 24, three ahead of Spurs stopper Vicario.

Sunderland’s Robin Roefs has prevented the highest number of goals, while Dubravka sits sixth in the list. Intriguingly, ex-Claret James Trafford is fourth, one place above another former Burnley keeper in Nick Pope.

Josh Cullen has the highest conversion rate of any player in the Premier League, scoring one goal from his only shot of the season to date.

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