Coventry, Tottenham and Aston Villa: why early Premier League struggles need not spark panic

Coventry, Tottenham and Aston Villa have each endured worrying starts to the Premier League season in mid-September, with Coventry still without a point after four games, Tottenham yet to score despite holding two draws, and Villa collecting just one point from their opening quartet of fixtures.

Coventry returned to the top flight for the first time since 2001 after winning the Championship but have failed to score in four matches, including away trips to Arsenal and Manchester City and a 1-0 home defeat to fellow promoted side Hull. A 5-0 loss to Brighton on Sunday left matters worse, a game in which Taiwo Awoniyi was sent off in the second half after Coventry were already 2-0 down and Lewis Dunk struck from around 30 yards into the top corner.

Historical precedents offer mixed signals for the Sky Blues: they are the eighth promoted team to lose their first four top-flight matches, and only one of those teams — Southampton in 2012-13 — avoided relegation. Across all Premier League campaigns, 18 teams had lost their first four games before Coventry and eight of those ultimately stayed up, the most recent survivor being Everton in 2024-25.

Crystal Palace’s 2017-18 sequence is cited as a recovery example: under Frank de Boer Palace failed to score or pick up a point in their first five matches, de Boer was sacked and Roy Hodgson took over, Palace went seven games without a goal or point and then improved to finish 11th. The article notes, “We are not suggesting Coventry sack their own Frank, by the way. He has surely earned enough goodwill after getting them into the top flight in the first place.” It also remarks on the practical difficulties of coaxing the 79-year-old Hodgson out of retirement.

Other poor starts have had more severe consequences: Portsmouth failed to win any of their first seven matches in 2009-10, scored three times in that run and finished bottom on 19 points after a nine-point deduction for administration; Norwich lost their first six in 2021-22 and finished bottom on 22 points. Three teams have lost their first five matches — Southampton in 1998-99, Sunderland in 2005-06 and Wolves last season — with Saints surviving while Sunderland and Wolves finished 20th and dropped to the Championship.

Tottenham’s difficulties are statistical and historical: Roberto De Zerbi kept them up after consecutive 17th-place finishes last season and received summer backing in the transfer window, yet four games into this campaign Spurs remain goalless and have two points from 0-0 draws with Nottingham Forest and Everton. It is the first time in the club’s history they have failed to score in their first four league games, and only Palace’s 2017-18 side endured a longer barren start; Spurs have gone 407 minutes since their last Premier League goal and have not failed to score in four successive league matches since September 2006.

Failing to score in the first four league games has occurred on five previous occasions: Crystal Palace 2017-18, Sheffield Wednesday 1994-95, Newcastle 2005-06, Swansea 2011-12 and Aston Villa last season — none of those teams were relegated, with the lowest finishing position 13th (Sheffield Wednesday). Villa themselves did not score until their fifth match last year yet went on to finish fourth and win the Europa League; this summer their squad lost players and they have started slowly this term, collecting one point from four after a goalless draw at Hull. The club have suffered defeats to Brighton, Arsenal and Forest and sit in the relegation zone with a point fewer than at the same stage last season; it is the fourth time Villa have begun a Premier League campaign without a win in their first four matches (previously 1992-93, 1997-98 and 2025-26), and Alysson’s equaliser against Forest on Saturday was noted as their first league goal.

Fulham’s early run was eased by a draw at Liverpool on Saturday, their first point after opening with defeats to Chelsea, Sunderland and Palace, leaving them still in the bottom three but with something to build on. The article concludes by stressing the season’s length and remaining opportunities: Coventry will be seeking their first points, Tottenham need to find a goal, and there are still 34 matches remaining in the campaign — it’s four games down, 34 to go.

This is an article by Opta Analyst