Seven Clubs Marooned on Zero Points as Early Relegation Picture Emerges

Bottom Three Already Taking Shape

According to the Premier League table, Tottenham Hotspur sit bottom of the pile after two matches, having suffered two defeats without scoring. Five goals conceded and none registered at the correct end leaves them with a -5 goal difference — the joint-worst in the division alongside Crystal Palace.

Palace occupy 19th with an identical zero-point return from two outings. They have at least managed a single goal, though six conceded represents the leakiest defensive record in the league so far.

Aston Villa round out the bottom three in 18th. They have played just once, but that match produced a 4-0 defeat and a -4 goal difference from a solitary appearance.

The Zero-Point Cluster

The alarm extends well beyond the bottom three. Coventry City sit 17th — the last safe position — yet they mirror Aston Villa's -4 goal difference across two defeats, with no goals scored in either match. The difference is that Coventry have played twice to Villa's once, making theirs the more entrenched struggle.

Manchester United are 16th, also pointless, having lost their only fixture 2-0. A -2 goal difference from a single match is far from catastrophic, but it leaves them occupying a position no one at Old Trafford would have anticipated.

Sunderland AFC in 15th and Fulham in 14th complete a group of seven clubs yet to register a single point. For Fulham, there is at least a small consolation: they have scored twice in their one match, a 3-2 defeat. But three goals conceded in a single outing underlines the defensive vulnerability that often defines relegation battles.

Sunderland's return is starker — one goal scored, two conceded, and zero points from their opening match.

One Point and Precarious

Just above the zero-point group, Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth each have one point from two matches. Both have drawn once and lost once, with identical records of two goals scored and three conceded, leaving them level on -1 goal difference.

According to the Premier League table, Forest sit 12th and Bournemouth 13th, separated only by their positioning despite matching numbers across every metric. Both are within touching distance of the bottom three, and a bad result for either could see them dragged into the mire.

Context and Caveats

It is worth emphasising how early this picture is. Several clubs in the bottom half have played only once, meaning the table is far from settled. A single victory for any of the seven zero-point clubs would dramatically alter the complexion of the lower reaches.

That said, the opening fortnight has already established patterns worth monitoring. Tottenham and Crystal Palace have each played twice and lost twice, with Spurs yet to score and Palace shipping six. Coventry City have also failed to find the net across two matches.

For the teams hovering just above — Manchester United, Sunderland, and Fulham — the priority will be converting narrow defeats into something tangible before the gap to mid-table widens. With Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth only a point better off, the margin between safety and the drop is razor-thin. The coming matchweeks will determine whether these early struggles are blips or the beginning of a long, attritional fight against relegation.