Last season, Burton Albion seemed destined for relegation. On the 4th of January, The Brewers found themselves eleven points from safety. Surprisingly, they survived. Not only did they survive but they did so with a game to spare.
After being one of the stories of last season, they are grabbing the headlines once again. Not because they are top of the league or mounting any sort of challenge for promotion, but because they are reliably capable of pulling off an upset.
This season alone they have taken maximum points from games against Bradford City, Bolton Wanderers and Cardiff City, who currently sit 2nd, 3rd and 4th in the table. 7th place AFC Wimbledon and 8th place Mansfield have also been bested by Gary Bowyer’s men.
This is made even more surprising when you look at the teams that the Brewers have lost to so far this season. Bottom of League One sit Plymouth Argyle.
They have lost their last five games in a row in all competitions and haven’t won in their last six. Their last win? A 4-0 demolition of Burton. But they’re not the only one.
In-between their wins against Bolton and AFC Wimbledon, Burton took on Peterborough United at the Pirelli Stadium. A Peterborough side who lost eight of their first nine games in all competitions and didn’t win their first game until midway through September.
Despite being the away side and playing the last ten minutes with ten men, Posh would come away with all three points. As mentioned, last season Burton barely survived relegation, finishing in 20th place for the second season in a row.
In fact, since being relegated at the end of the 2017/18 season, they’ve never really come close to getting back to the Championship.
What Do the Statistics Say About Burton Albion?
Looking at the statistics, nothing truly stands out. They are conceding fewer goals than the teams below them and scoring fewer than the teams above them.
However, looking deeper, they have scored the joint fourth least goals per match and have missed the third most big chances (28). At the other end of the pitch, things look more promising.
Gary Bowyer’s side have kept five clean sheets in fifteen games which is amongst the best in the division. But, in terms of possession, their average of 44% is amongst the lowest in the division.
So, it seems like they are strong defensively but everywhere else on the pitch leaves a bit to be desired.
Fixture Watch
On the plus side, they do have some very winnable games coming up. In their next eleven matches, they only play one side who are above 13th in the division.
The downside of that is you then have to play several of the league’s top teams all in a row afterwards. However, as mentioned, playing these strong teams won’t faze them in the slightest.
Relegation Fears
So, will Burton go down? It’s hard to say, especially considering how much of the season there is still to play.
In terms of the current bottom four, Plymouth look pretty hopeless, but a new manager could steer them in the right direction. Port Vale have improved as the season has gone on but have lost their last three games in a row so it could go either way.
Peterborough and Blackpool have looked much better under their new managers so should start to push up the table. One advantage that Burton have is the fact that their training ground is St. George’s Park, the same facilities where the England National Team train.
This might not seem to be much of a deciding factor but in a relegation battle you need every advantage that you can get.
