The upturn in form at Watford and Southampton has blown the Premier League relegation battle wide open. Watford did not win a game until November but Nigel Pearson has reinvigorated the team in recent weeks. They have won more points in five games under Pearson than they did in the 16 games before he arrived. With Southampton on a similar run – they picked up 10 points over the Christmas fortnight to jump from 18th to 12th in the table – a few managers will be looking over their shoulders.
Norwich are in real trouble – they have not won in eight matches and are now seven points adrift of survival – but things are very tight above that. Just six points separate Watford in 19th and Everton in 11th. Not every club in the bottom half is in trouble, but some established Premier League sides should be worried. Bournemouth have lost eight of their last 10 games and are now in the bottom three. And, after a run of three straight defeats, Burnley should be concerned.
The most recent of their defeats – at home to struggling Aston Villa – is their most concerning yet. The Clarets were utterly outplayed in the first half. Sean Dyche’s side showed some fight after the break and ultimately lost 2-1. The result does not look disastrous in isolation but, given their upcoming fixtures, it is a game where they would have wanted three points, let alone one.
Burnley face a trip to Chelsea this weekend, then meetings with Leicester City, Manchester United and Arsenal, before they travel to a rejuvenated Southampton. As things stand, Burnley will be the underdogs in their next five league matches. That is something Dyche may have relished in the past, but at the minute his team does not look likely to upset the odds. Their record against the big sides was poor in the first half of the season. They were easily beaten by Tottenham (5-0), Manchester City (4-1), Chelsea (4-2) and Liverpool (3-0).
All seven of their victories in the league this season have been against teams that are currently in the bottom half of the table. Burnley kept clean sheets in all of those wins. By contrast, they have not won any of the 14 games in which they have conceded. The fight and determination that Dyche instilled in his team have been on show far too infrequently. To back that up, they have only retrieved two points from losing positions all season.
Finding the net has been a big problem of late, with Burnley scoring just four goals in their last eight league games. Their top scorer, Chris Wood, is carrying too much of the burden. Ashley Barnes started the season well, scoring four goals in his first three appearances, but he has struck just twice in his 16 matches thereafter.
The midfielders are not chipping in with goals. Regular midfielders Jack Cork and Ashley Westwood have not scored all season. While neither is expected to to be prolific, they are not fulfilling their defensive duties as well as they did last season either.
Burnley rank bottom of the league in two damning statistics. They have completed a lower proportion of their passes than any other team, which may not be wholly surprising, but a pass accuracy of just 68.3% is incredibly poor. They have never been a side that dominates the ball, but this is the first time their average has fallen below 70% since they returned to the top flight in 2016.
They are also bottom of the pile when it comes to tackles, which is surprising given their reputation as a defensive side. Burnley have made just 287 tackles this season (13.7 per game). The fact that freefalling Bournemouth are second from bottom in that particular table suggests that both teams need to up their intensity when out of possession to arrest their slides.
Burnley have shown heart and recovered from disappointing streaks of form in the past, but it will take an almighty effort to break their current slump anytime soon. If they are still above the bottom three after their next four matches, there will be reason for optimism but, as things stand, Burnley are on course for relegation battle.
• Visit WhoScored for more statistics and ratings
• Follow WhoScored and Martin Laurence on Twitter
