[Opta] Wolves Smash Record for Worst Winless Start in Premier League History

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Worst winless starts to a Premier League season: Wolverhampton Wanderers: 17 games – 2025-26 – Ongoing Sheffield United: 17 games – 2020-21 Queens Park Rangers: 16 games – 2012-13 Swindon Town: 15 games – 1993-94 Newcastle United: 14 games – 2021-22

It was already a brutal season for Wolves, but they hit a truly unwelcome milestone after losing to Brentford at Molineux on Saturday. Sheffield United’s 17-game winless start to the 2020-21 season was the previous record. Few expected that record to be matched so soon, but here we are. Wolves have now gone 17 games without a win to start the 2025-26 season, picking up just 2 points from a staggering 15 losses and 2 draws.

Keane Lewis-Potter bagged a brace as Brentford cruised to a 2-0 win at Molineux. Things might have been different if Jørgen Strand Larsen had converted his second-half penalty, but Caoimhín Kelleher denied him, and the away side cruised from there. Honestly, it would’ve taken a miracle for Wolves to avoid matching Sheffield’s record anyway. They just couldn't do it.

To be fair, Wolves haven't even been 'unlucky' lately, except for a 2-1 loss at the Emirates where they conceded twice in stoppage time. They’ve scored the fewest goals (9) and conceded the most (37) in the PL this season, losing to all three promoted sides. They’re on a 10-game losing streak, with their last league point coming back on October 5th in a 1-1 draw against Brighton. They even managed to blow a lead against Spurs when João Palhinha scored a late equalizer.

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The early season slump saw Vitor Pereira sacked after just 10 games following a 3-0 loss to Fulham, with Rob Edwards coming in from Middlesbrough. While there were flashes of improvement, Wolves are still hunting for their first point under Edwards after 7 games. If they don’t win the next one, they’ll own the record outright for the longest winless start in PL history. That next match? Liverpool at Anfield. Slot's Liverpool might not be having a perfect season, but expecting Wolves to win there is a stretch.

After that, they head to Old Trafford to face a Man Utd side that beat them 4-1 in a comeback win a few weeks ago. If they’re still winless by then, their January 3rd home game against West Ham might be their last realistic shot at 3 points.

Their 3-2 win over West Ham in the League Cup 2nd round earlier this season is one of only two wins across all competitions in 2025-26, the other being a 2-0 home win against Everton in the League Cup 3rd round.

Wolves fans might take comfort in the fact that Newcastle went winless in their first 14 games (D7 L7) in 2021-22 and still finished 11th, but no team has ever gone this long without a win and stayed up. Wolves are now among only four teams—Sheffield United, QPR, and Swindon—to go longer than Newcastle without a win. Counting the end of last season, they are on a 21-game winless run in the PL. Their last league win was a 3-0 victory over Leicester City on April 26th.

While relegation to the Championship looks inevitable, it’s clear fans have absolutely nothing to cheer about until they can finally hear a winning whistle for the first time in eight months.