Wolves Struggle in Premier League: A Season of Woes
It is certainly not the season to be jolly if you are a Wolves fan.
The team has yet to secure a league victory this season, with no points earned since the beginning of October and no goals scored in their last five matches.
The only player to find the net for Wolves since November is Yerson Mosquera, who unfortunately scored an own goal during the 3-0 defeat against Fulham.
This marks the first time since the 1983-84 season that Wolves have failed to win any of their first 14 matches. Additionally, their current five-match streak without a goal is the longest since their inaugural Premier League season in 2003.
Following Wednesday's home loss to Nottingham Forest, Wolves find themselves with just two points from 14 matches this season, the joint-lowest total at this stage of any top-flight season.
If Wolves lose their eighth consecutive league match against Manchester United on Monday, they will match the club's worst-ever losing streak, previously set in the 1981-82 season, and would also guarantee they sit at the bottom of the table on Christmas.
Failing to earn points from their next two festive fixtures—against Arsenal and at home to Brentford—would see Wolves equal Sheffield United's Premier League record for the lowest points tally on Christmas Day (two points in the 2020-21 season).
Goals have been elusive, which is perhaps expected given that two of Wolves' top three scorers from last season, Matheus Cunha and Rayan Ait-Nouri, have departed, while the remaining scorer, Jorgen Strand Larsen, is struggling with form and fitness.
Despite this, three teams in the Premier League have a lower expected goals total (xG) than Wolves' 12.74 this season. However, those teams have managed to outperform their xG, while Wolves have struggled to capitalize on the few opportunities they create.
Wolves have underperformed their xG by a margin greater than any other team in the top flight (-5.74), having scored only seven goals thus far. This is the first instance in Premier League history where a team has entered December without any players scoring more than one league goal.
Any hopes for a turnaround under new manager Rob Edwards have quickly faded, as he has yet to witness a goal, point, or win since taking over.
Although Edwards has only been in charge for three matches since leaving Middlesbrough, he seems to be acknowledging that Wolves' campaign may be a lost cause, indicating that his players are now playing for pride.
"It looked bleak when I arrived," he remarked following the defeat to Forest, which marked Wolves' 12th loss in 14 league matches. "We can’t affect what goes on elsewhere. We can affect what we can do—but we didn’t do our job tonight. We don’t want to die like that. That’s going to be the message going forward—we don’t want to go out with a whimper."
This is a message his players must heed, or they risk setting further unwanted records, including those reminiscent of Derby County's infamous 2007-08 campaign, where they were relegated from the Premier League with only 11 points, the lowest in the history of Europe's major leagues.
Derby's tally averaged out to just 0.29 points per game over the full 38-match season. Currently, Wolves are averaging 0.14 points per game, which, if continued, would result in a total of just five points from 38 matches.