How Burnley can get promoted from the Championship on Good Friday
By Euan Burns
One team has been far and away the best in the Championship this season and it's Vincent Kompany's Burnley. Just one season after going down, the Clarets look set to go straight back up to the Premier League as champions.
They come into the weekend's action with an 11-point lead over second-placed Sheffield United which means there's a scenario where their place in England's top flight could be secured before we hit mid-April.
Here's what Kompany's side need to do as well as the teams around them if it is to be a perfect Easter weekend for Burnley fans.
Burnley's Championship campaign so far
Incredibly, Burnley have lost only two times in the league this season. Considering just how tough a Championship campaign can be with 46 games to play, that is a superb achievement after 38 matches on the board.
Those defeats came against Watford on the third day of the season and against fellow promotion pursuers Sheffield United, the latter by a surprising 5-2 scoreline.
Beyond that, Kompany's side has won 24 matches and drawn 12. After the Sheffield United defeat on November 5, Burnley then won eight in a row and are yet to lose in 2023. They have the best attack in the league with 74 goals and also the best defence having conceded 29 times.
How can Burnley get promoted?
There is a chance Burnley can secure promotion on Good Friday with the right set of results in more than just their own match. It is certainly not a far-fetched set of circumstances for it to happen.
Just two things are needed on Friday for it to be a day of celebration in Burnley. They require Luton Town to be beaten by Millwall in the early kick-off on Friday, and then the Clarets need to follow it up with a win over Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium.
Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goal Difference | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1. | Burnley | 38 | 24 | 12 | 2 | 45 | 84 |
2. | Sheffield United | 38 | 22 | 7 | 9 | 26 | 73 |
3. | Middlesbrough | 39 | 20 | 7 | 12 | 25 | 67 |
4. | Luton Town | 39 | 18 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 67 |
5. | Millwall | 39 | 17 | 10 | 12 | 8 | 61 |
6. | Blackburn Rovers | 38 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 61 |
It is a very plausible but not easy set of circumstances. Middlesbrough are currently third in the Championship and have not lost at home since Michael Carrick took over. It will take a big performance from Burnley to get what they need there.
As for Luton getting beaten by Millwall, that is possible given Millwall are only one place below them in the table and are fighting to secure a place in the playoffs.
If it does not go to plan, there will be another opportunity very soon to secure promotion.
The situation would move on to Easter Monday when Burnley have another very tough game. They could secure promotion by beating Sheffield United at Turf Moor, which could even be a better occasion given it will be in front of the home crowd.
Either way, Kompany already seems to have done enough to take his side into the top flight, a venture that he will presumably want to stick around for given the margin by which they are set to win the Championship by.
Read more on the play-off hunt across the EFL
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