MANCHESTER, England (AP) — The numbers keep getting worse for Wolverhampton Wanderers in a season that threatens to set record lows. premier league history.
In the 16th round of the season, the Wolves are still winless. Sitting bottom of the table, relegation to the Championship looks inevitable and recently appointed coach Rob Edwards’ job now looks like a case of damage limitation.
With an unwanted record on the horizon, Wolves face leaders Arsenal on Saturday.
Wolves have just two points from 15 games so far, and if they can maintain their form for the rest of the season they will reach their lowest point ever with five points. This is less than half of Derby County’s lowest points total in Premier League history of 11 in 2007/8.
“We have to try to get better. We have to try to find that belief,” Edwards said this week. Lost 4-1 at home to Manchester United On Monday, fans staged a protest against the club’s Chinese owners, Fosun.
Some fans boycotted the first 15 minutes of the match and protested outside the stadium. More protests erupted during the game as Wolves suffered an eight-game losing streak.
Their last win in the league came in April against a relegation-placed Leicester team. It was the end of a six-game winning streak that helped the Wolves avoid last season’s winning streak, but the coach said the bad news has continued since then. Vitor Pereira sacked Edwards has so far been unable to spark a turnaround.
However, Wolves are still far from having the longest losing streak in Premier League history. According to statistician Opta, Sunderland lost 20 games in a row over two campaigns.
Their 15 consecutive defeats in 2002-3 were the most ever in a single season, and Sunderland, who returned to the top of the table in 2005, lost a further five games.
The Wolves appear to be paying the price for a lack of talent, selling a number of top players in recent years.
Pedro Neto moved to Chelsea last year. Then, in the last transfer window, Rayan Ait-Nouri was sold to Manchester City and Matheus Cunha was sold to Manchester United. Matheus Nunez (City), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) and Ruben Neves (Al Hilal) are also among the players to watch who could weaken a team that finished seventh in back-to-back seasons in 2019 and 2020.
Derby’s record is their best in 20 years, but Wolves’ woes are indicative of recent trends in England’s top flight.
Southampton were relegated last year after finishing in second place with a total of 12 points. An unlikely draw with Man City in the penultimate game of the season was needed to avoid equalizing Derby’s points total.
Sheffield United have the fourth lowest total of points in the 23-24 season with 16 points.
Derby also have the lowest number of wins in a Premier League season, with just one win coming in 2007-8.
Wolves are currently 13 points adrift on a -25 goal difference, but defender Emmanuel Agbadu insisted this week: “We are not going to give up.”
“I’m going to try my best to at least finish the season on a good note,” he said.
major matches
Sunderland host Newcastle in the North East derby on Sunday, while Man City’s trip to Crystal Palace will be a test for Josep Guardiola’s side following Wednesday’s Champions League win over Real Madrid.
Palace defeated City in last season’s FA Cup final.
Liverpool host Brighton on Saturday. The defending champions are looking to get their season back on track after winning just two of their last 10 league games.
Featured players
Whether Mohamed Salah is on the field, on the bench or in the stands, all eyes will be on him when Liverpool take on Brighton at Anfield.
Liverpool icon questions his future after claiming he used to be “I was thrown under the bus.” By the club. Salah, who was left out of the squad for three games in a row, gave an explosive interview after last week’s 3-3 draw with Leeds.
“I think it’s clear that someone was trying to put all the blame on me,” he said.
He was then left out of Liverpool’s squad for Tuesday’s Champions League match against Inter Milan, but manager Arne Slott said: “I don’t know.” If Salah plays for the club again.
Salah heads to the African Cup of Nations next week and if he is left out of Liverpool’s squad again it would only raise further questions about his future at Anfield.
Activity suspended
Declan Rice missed Arsenal’s Champions League match against Brugge due to illness. William Saliba is still expected to return due to an unspecified injury, while Leandro Trossard also missed Brugge due to what is believed to be a contusion. Julian Timber has his doubts.
Palace are without Daniel Muñoz, who needs surgery with a knee injury, and Jean-Philippe Mateta missed Thursday’s UEFA Conference League game against Shelbourne because he needed rest.
Slott said Chelsea striker Liam Delap has injured his shoulder and Liverpool’s Codi Gakpo will be out for several weeks with an unspecified injury.
off the field
Following his falling out with Salah, Liverpool fans expressed their support for Milan’s slot. We’ll see how the home crowd reacts on Saturday when we return to Anfield.
Salah said last week that he would bid farewell to his fans before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Only time will tell if this will be his final farewell before leaving the club, but the Saudi Arabian team are reportedly ready to make the move in January.
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