MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Wolverhampton Wanderers' performance continues to deteriorate in a season that threatens to set a new low in Premier League history.
Ahead of the 16th round of the campaign, Wolves remain winless. Sitting bottom of the table, relegation to the Championship looks inevitable, with newly hired coach Rob Edwards' job now appearing to be a case of damage limitation.
The unwanted record is already in sight and Wolves travel to top-placed Arsenal on Saturday.
With just two points from 15 games at the moment, Wolves are closing in on a record low of five points if they maintain this form for the rest of the season. This is half the number of Derby County's lowest Premier League total of 11 points in 2007/08.
“We have to try to improve. We have to try to find that belief,” Edwards said this week, but Monday's 4-1 home defeat to Manchester United sparked a fan protest against the club's Chinese owner Fosunya.
Some fans boycotted the first 15 minutes of the game and protested outside the stadium. More protests followed during the match as Wolves suffered their eighth consecutive league defeat.
The last league win was in April against a Leicester side on the way to relegation. It was at the end of a six-game winning run that helped Wolves avoid the drop last season, but it has been bad news since then, with manager Vitor Pereira sacked in November and Edwards still failing to make a difference.
But Wolves are still far from the longest losing streak in Premier League history. According to statistician Opta, Sunderland have lost 20 games in a row – across two campaigns.
A run of 15 consecutive defeats in 2002–03 was the highest in a single season, and Sunderland lost a further five games when they returned to the top flight in 2005.
Wolves appear to be paying the price for a talent drain in recent years, with several of their top players sold as a result.
Pedro Neto left for Chelsea last year. This was followed by the sale of Ryan Ait-Nouri to Manchester City and Matheus Cunha to Manchester United in the last transfer window. Matheus Nunez (City), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest) and Ruben Neves (Al Hilal) were other high-profile departures, weakening a team that had back-to-back seventh-place finishes in 2019 and 2020.
While Derby's record has stood for the best part of 20 years, Wolverhampton's problems highlight a recent trend in England's top flight.
Last year Southampton were relegated with the second-worst record of 12 points. It took an unlikely draw with Manchester City in the penultimate game of the season to match Derby's result.
Sheffield United have the fourth fewest points – 16 – in the 23-24 season.
Derby also have a record number of wins in a Premier League season, with just one in the 2007–08 season.
Wolves are currently 13 points off safety with a goal difference of -25, but defender Emmanuel Agbadu insisted this week: “We're not going to give up.”
“We will try to do everything we can to at least finish the season well,” he said.
Key matches
Sunderland host Newcastle in a north-east derby on Sunday, while Manchester City's trip to Crystal Palace will test Pep Guardiola's side after Wednesday's Champions League win over Real Madrid.
Palace beat City in the FA Cup final last season.
Liverpool host Brighton on Saturday. The defending champions are trying to get their season back on track after just two wins in their last 10 league games.
Players to watch
Whether Mohamed Salah is on the pitch, on the bench or in the stands, all eyes will be on him when Liverpool take on Brighton at Anfield.
The Liverpool icon has questioned his future after claiming the club had “thrown him under the bus”. Salah has been left out of the squad for three matches in a row and responded with an explosive interview after last week's 3-3 draw with Leeds.
“I think it's pretty clear that somebody wanted me to take all the blame,” he said.
He was then completely left out of the squad for Liverpool's Champions League clash with Inter Milan on Tuesday, with manager Arne Slot saying he did not know whether Salah would play for the club again.
Salah travels to the Africa Cup of Nations next week and if he is left out of the Liverpool squad again it will only cast further doubt on his future at Anfield.
Out of order
Declan Rice missed Arsenal's Champions League game against Club Brugge due to illness. William Saliba is yet to return from an unspecified injury, while Leandro Trossard also missed Club Brugge with what was described as a knock. Jurrien Timber is a doubt.
Palace are without Daniel Munoz, who needs surgery on a knee injury, and Jean-Philippe Mateta was left out of Thursday's UEFA Conference League match against Shelbourne because he needed rest.
Chelsea striker Liam Delap has suffered a shoulder injury and Liverpool's Cody Gakpo will be out for several weeks with an unspecified injury, Slote said.
Outside the field
Liverpool fans showed their support for Slot in Milan after his fallout with Salah. Back at Anfield, we'll see how the fans react on Saturday.
Last week, Salah said he would say goodbye to fans before heading to the Africa Cup of Nations.
Time will tell if this will be the final farewell before leaving the club, with Saudi Arabia sides reportedly ready to make a move in the January window.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson.
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