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In the 126th season of top-flight English football, we’re witnessing a situation where up to four teams have gone winless in their first eight games—something that’s never happened before.
Wolverhampton Wanderers, Southampton, Crystal Palace, and Ipswich Town are yet to find a win in the 2024/25 English Premier League season – a record that was confirmed on Monday night after the Eagles lost by a lone goal to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
After Matchday 8, Wolves and Southampton have lost seven games each and drawn one apiece. Ipswich Town have garnered four wins and four losses. Meanwhile, Crystal Palace have lost five of their matches and drawn three of them.
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In comparison, the previous record was three winless clubs at this stage, seen in 2021-22 and 2018-19. On both occasions, Newcastle United was involved.
Crystal Palace find themselves in a familiar situation. In both the 2017-18 and 2013-14 seasons, they were also winless after eight matches, yet finished 11th both times.
Ipswich, on four points, hold the highest tally among the struggling quartet, but there’s a worrying stat—last season, promoted Burnley and Luton had the same number of points at this stage—and both were relegated.
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Meanwhile, Wolves are experiencing their worst-ever start in the top flight, surpassing the two points they earned in 1983-84. That season ended in misery as Wolves finished bottom of the league.
Southampton, though, are no strangers to this troubling adventure. They managed to survive a winless opening nine games in 1998-99 and therefore proved that such ugly starts don’t always spell doom.
Looking back to 2013-14, Sunderland also defied expectations after an abysmal start to the campaign. They survived an eight-game winless run and climbed to 14th after dismissing Paolo Di Canio and appointing Gus Poyet.
Although this season’s winless teams are struggling, only three can be relegated, leaving some with hope. Last season, Bournemouth showed faith in manager Andoni Iraola, who led the team to a 12th-place finish, despite a late first win in the campaign.
For these clubs who have set a new Premier League record, there’s still time, but the clock is ticking. The challenge will be turning their fortunes around before it’s too late.
Tags: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Wolves, #PremierLeague, Ipswich Town, Southampton, Crystal Palace, Andoni Iraola, Gus Poyet, Paolo Di Canio, winless, Bournemouth, Premier League record after 126 years, #NewsRoundTheClock, #nrtcnewsnigeria, #nrtcnigeria, #nrtcnews.
