Premier League: Why it is too early to discount Burnley

Burnley have only lost half of their games despite a difficult start

Burnley have shot in to 1.374/11 to be relegated after a six-game winless start; Michael Lintorn sees appeal in the lay...

What do Norwich, Southampton, Sunderland and Crystal Palace have in common? They all avoided relegation in one of the previous two Premier League campaigns despite having three points or fewer after six matches.

So though writing Burnley off is proving a hugely popular exercise - they have bolted in from 3.3 to 1.374/11 to be relegated and are as short as 2.111/10 to finish rock bottom - it is far too soon to dismiss them as doomed.

Crystal Palace collected just three points from the first 30 available to them last season and still climbed to 11th, while Southampton followed five points from their opening 11 fixtures in 2012/13 with 36 in 27 to comfortably make it to 14th.

Burnley's 0-4 loss to West Brom was obviously their grimmest moment since promotion, but it shouldn't be overlooked that they have already faced Chelsea, Man United and in-form Swansea. Five of their initial six opponents are currently in the top half, yet they only lost half of their games.

There are two primary reasons for positivity. One is the three clean sheets that they obtained, a tally bettered by nobody in the division. It took Crystal Palace 11 attempts to achieve one last term. The other is that their next two matches are away to Leicester and West Ham at home - two beatable teams with defensive records inferior to the Clarets (they have earned one shutout between them).

Of course, they are going to need to score goals to survive and they haven't done that since the 14th minute of their first encounter against Chelsea. However, this is another area in which they shouldn't be judged too harshly due to being forced to compete without their two trusted strikers.

Sam Vokes hasn't been available yet in 2014/15, while Danny Ings has missed the last two-and-a-half fixtures against Crystal Palace, Sunderland and West Brom - a triple header that he would have expected more of an impact in after tricky assignments against Chelsea, Swansea and Man United.

Until they are failing with that duo - who both netted 20-plus goals in the Championship together - it is premature to condemn them as toothless and hopeless. There are 96 points to play for and, on the evidence of the past three seasons, they will only require 34 of those.

Recommended Bet: Lay Burnley to be relegated @ 1.384/11