THE PREMIER LEAGUE is a strange place. Captivating, alluring, entertaining but still very strange.

Sometimes you crunch numbers and take a peek at statistics and not much makes sense. And that’s certainly the case with Burnley’s season.

Earlier today, they held the runaway top-flight leaders to a 1-1 draw. Along the way, they’ve beaten Liverpool and Everton. But, all of those big results have come at Turf Moor. In fact, Burnley’s home form has been, within context, superb.

Here’s what the Premier League table would look like if based on home games only.

So, Burnley have been better than both Manchester City and Manchester United in terms of home form. They’ve taken an average of 2.1 points per game. They’ve racked up 28 points, just five less than Chelsea. That’s pretty staggering.

What’s equally staggering is what happens Burnley on the road.

From 11 away games, they’ve taken just one point. They’ve scored five times. It’s a dismal return and one that’s sure to be perplexing Sean Dyche. Even if Burnley managed to pick up five more points away from Turf Moor, they’d be on the cusp of the top-eight: a much more pleasing return given their astounding performances on home soil.

Instead, they’re in 11th place right now – alongside Watford and Southampton. Their incredible inconsistency costing them dearly.

And what’s worse is their upcoming fixtures.

Their next four games are all away from the comforts of Turf Moor. One would assume Burnley will pick up something from those assignments but going by the pattern of this campaign, it won’t be much.

Dropping down the table is a real possibility and, despite them being very safe from the drop, it would be incredibly irritating to see them limp over the finish line owing to the remarkable discrepancy in their home and away form.

Nigel French Nigel French

It’s a Jeckyll and Hyde act but Dyche is optimistic. Ahead of the Chelsea game, he acknowledged the massive gulf but has been warmed by the spirit shown by his players.

“We could do with picking up more points away from home but performance-wise I’ve been pleased with the last four away games, against some really strong teams”, he said.

If you keep performing at the right level you will win games eventually. That’s what I keep telling my players and I don’t think it is an idle promise. There are no guarantees, we’ve had a number of contentious decisions go against us and things like that are out of our control. But it’s my belief that, if you put in the work and the performances, you will get a reward.”

He and Burnley deserve better than scrapping in the bottom half but this is a strange, uncompromising league and doesn’t do hand-outs.

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