Premier League: QPR flaw is less fatal than Leicester's

QPR's poor away form is the result of some horrible fixtures

Michael Lintorn looks at what is holding Leicester, Burnley and QPR back, and argues that Leicester's issue is the most serious...

The three promoted clubs remain the three favourites for Premier League relegation, with Burnley - who are actually out of the bottom three - 1.511/2 frontrunners and QPR and Leicester both 2.166/5.

Each of the trio were in action on Tuesday, with Leicester losing to Liverpool, Burnley drawing with Newcastle and QPR being defeated at Swansea, and they all displayed their gravest fault in doing so. Whose is most damaging though?

Leicester
Flaw: Regularly concede at least two goals

Wes Morgan's sending off may have contributed to Leicester's demise against Liverpool, but they were already 1-2 down at that stage, marking the ninth time in their 14 Premier League fixtures this term that they have gifted the opposition at least two goals.

Only QPR have conceded more, and the Foxes have out-leaked them over their last ten games. The drying up of Leonardo Ulloa's goal supply and failure of any teammate to pick up the slack - they have scored just three times in seven matches, one an own goal - has exacerbated the problem.

Were it simply the top teams carving Leicester open, it wouldn't be disastrous, but almost everyone is taking a turn. QPR stuck three past them, and Burnley and Crystal Palace bagged two. If Aston Villa, the Premier League's least prolific side, do likewise on Sunday, it is time to panic. Over 2.5 goals is 2.1211/10 at Villa Park.

Burnley
Flaw: Very rarely score more than one goal

The Clarets led, outplayed yet ultimately drew with Newcastle because despite having the better of the contest and limiting the visitors' chances, they didn't take enough of the ones that they created.

Sean Dyche's men have netted more than once in the same match only twice this season - away to bottom-eight duo Leicester and Stoke - and have struck a mere six times in their other 12 outings.

However, their shortcomings are easier to explain than Leicester's as they were forced to endure over a month without chief goal threat Danny Ings, who has fired four in seven since returning. Burnley scored at least once in six of those seven clashes, compared to two in seven prior to that, so there is improvement. They are also still missing Sam Vokes, who grabbed 20 Championship goals.

Burnley will likely be as big as 3.814/5 to score two goals or more for just the third time since promotion away to QPR on Saturday.

QPR
Flaw: Yet to earn an away Premier League point

The Hoops' ailment is probably the most publicised of the lot: they haven't gained a single point on their Premier League travels. Their run stretched to seven games at the Liberty Stadium in midweek, yet there was encouragement in the fact that they kept Swansea quiet until the 78th minute.

Goalkeeper Rob Green, the main reason why QPR looked for a long time like clinging on for a draw, made a sound observation in the aftermath though: "Everyone keeps talking about us not having any points away from home but Swansea were the lowest-placed team we had played."

Every one of QPR's eight road trips have come against top-half clubs, with the likes of Burnley, Hull, Crystal Palace, West Brom, Aston Villa and Leicester all to look forward to visiting after Christmas.

They showed in 2011/12 that they can survive without claiming points away to the elite - winning three points from 30 at top-half grounds and staying up - and have proven at Loftus Road that they can both outperform positional adversaries (Sunderland, Villa, Leicester) and rattle the higher-ups (Man City).