There isn’t a football club in England that doesn’t want to play in the Premier League. After all, who wouldn’t dream of taking part in one of the most competitive leagues on the planet? A competition that brings in exponential revenues for every participant? Literally nobody.
But perhaps the most important thing is not to get there, but to stay there and avoid relegation. Or, depending on your ambitions, to fight for the title. Both objectives include one constant: not losing games. It’s a point worth bearing in mind as we look at the 10 teams with the most defeats in English football’s top flight since its inception in 1992.
Teams With the Most Defeats in Premier League History
Rank
Club
Defeats
Games Played
1.
Everton
456
1247
2.
West Ham United
451
1092
3.
Aston Villa
417
1135
4.
Southampton
412
944
5.
Newcastle United
412
1130
6.
Tottenham Hotspur
405
1248
7.
Sunderland
296
608
8.
Manchester City
293
1058
9.
Fulham
291
666
10.
Chelsea
281
1248
10
Chelsea
Premier League defeats: 281
Most defeats in a PL season: 17 (1993/94)
Loss rate in the PL: 22.5%
Seven. In the history of the Premier League, only seven clubs have participated in each edition since 1992. Chelsea are one of them. And that’s one of the reasons why finding the London club in this ranking is hardly surprising.
In fact, you have to go back to the 1993/94 season, when the Blues finished 14th in the table, to find a record of 17 league defeats. Since then, they have never even come close to matching that record, although they did come close during the 2022/23 season, when the Blues ended with 16 defeats and a disappointing 12th place finish.
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9
Fulham
Premier League defeats: 291
Most defeats in a PL season: 26 (2018/19)
Loss rate in the PL: 43.6%
Although Fulham now seem to have stabilised in the Premier League, becoming a team capable of upsetting any of their opponents, this has not always been the case. For one thing, Cottagers fans had to wait until 2001 to finally get a taste of English football’s elite. For another, their adventure has rarely been a smooth one.
Between relegations to the Championship and difficult seasons, the Londoners have had few opportunities to nurture great ambitions. And the six seasons – out of a total of 18 played in the Premier League – that ended with a minimum of 18 defeats conceded are perfect testimony to this.
8
Manchester City
Premier League defeats: 293
Most defeats in a PL season: 21 (2005/06)
Loss rate in the PL: 27.6%
If you started following the Premier League over the last decade, you would probably be surprised to find Manchester City in eighth place. Older followers, on the other hand, will no doubt remember the Mancunians’ stuttering start to life in the top flight.
In fact, until 2009, the club had never finished a season in the top flight – 12 in all – with less than 12 defeats. Those days are long gone for a team that, in the space of a few years, has become the dominant force (six Premier League titles in seven years) in British – and world – football.
7
Sunderland
Premier League defeats: 296
Most defeats in a PL season: 29 (2005/06)
Loss rate in the PL: 48.6%
No other club in this ranking has played as fewer Premier League games as Sunderland. But that doesn’t stop them from making the grade. In 16 seasons in the top flight, the Black Cats have never ended any of them having lost fewer than 11 games.
Worse still, six of those 16 seasons came to an abrupt end with a total of more than 20 defeats – including 29 in 2005/06 alone. All in all, an edifying record for a club that has not tasted a single game in the top flight since 2017 and its relegation to the Championship.
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6
Tottenham Hotspur
Premier League defeats: 405
Most defeats in a PL season: 19 (1993/94, 2003/04)
Loss rate in the PL: 32.4%
Like Chelsea, Tottenham have been in the Premier League since the early 1990s. And, once again, that’s what ‘justifies’ their place in this ranking. However, Spurs’ record is far less flattering than that of its counterpart.
The perfect illustration of a club capable of the best and the worst, of getting involved in the fight for the title – which they have never won – as well as finding it extremely difficult to qualify for the Champions League. And the fact that the Londoners have conceded at least 10 times on 24 occasions since 1992 speaks volumes about their chronic inconsistency.
5
Newcastle United
Premier League defeats: 412
Most defeats in a PL season: 19 (2012/13, 2013/14, 2014/15, 2015/16)
Loss rate in the PL: 36.4%
Somewhat like Fulham, mentioned above, Newcastle’s adventure in the Premier League has always been a bumpy one. More often condemned to playing for survival than for the top flight, the Magpies have endured some truly miserable seasons, suffering one defeat after another.
The 19 defeats suffered each season between 2013 and 2016 clearly illustrate this. And although the club’s situation has now improved, largely as a result of the investments made by its wealthy management, the Tyneside club continues to concede more than a dozen defeats every season (with the exception of 2022/23). That’s still far too many for them to be in with a chance of winning the league title.
4
Southampton
Premier League defeats: 412
Most defeats in a PL season: 25 (2022/23)
Loss rate in the PL: 43.6%
Given that Southampton have never finished a Premier League campaign with fewer than 10 defeats to their name, it comes as no surprise to find them so high up the table. And it won’t be this 2024/25 season that will allow the Saints to break that run. On the contrary, they could even end it with a new record – but certainly not the best one.
In other words, the record for the most defeats in a single season in the top flight (29). A mark held jointly by Ipswich Town, Sunderland, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday, the St Mary’s Stadium outfit could wipe the slate clean before the end of the season, having already racked up 16 after 20 games.
3
Aston Villa
Premier League defeats: 417
Most defeats in a PL season: 27 (2015/16)
Loss rate in the PL: 36.7%
Like many of its counterparts, Aston Villa has close ties with the Premier League. It is a history that has been as rich as it has been tricky at times. Although they have only been relegated to the Championship once since the 1992/93 season, the Villans have, for the most part, been forced to play second fiddle to the ever-improving top flight.
This is borne out by the 14 seasons in which the Birmingham club have finished with a minimum of 15 wins. Four of those seasons ended with 20 or more defeats. Clearly, this is far too many for them to hope to break into the top flight.
2
West Ham United
Premier League defeats: 451
Most defeats in a PL season: 21 (2006/07)
Loss rate in the PL: 41.3%
West Ham United may have spent four seasons in the antechamber of English football, but that has not prevented them from occupying second place in the table. It has to be said that the Hammers are beginning to make a habit of disappointing seasons, or at least seasons that fail to live up to their fans’ initial expectations.
This is reflected in the London club’s overall record of 41.3% defeats in the Premier League. It has to be said that six seasons ending with a total of at least 19 defeats have not necessarily helped to improve this record. Nor has the statistic that only one season has ended with fewer than 10 defeats.
1
Everton
Premier League defeats: 456
Most defeats in a PL season: 22 (1993/94)
Loss rate in the PL: 36.5%
You may not have known it, and it may come as a surprise to you, but like Chelsea and Tottenham, Everton have participated in every Premier League season since 1992. But unlike their London counterparts, Everton have spent most of their time fighting for survival in the Premier League.
The Goodison Park outfit have enjoyed the joys of finishing a season in the Big Four just once, while 18 of their campaigns have ended in a lowly 10th place. And 28 of those campaigns ended with 10 or more defeats. A run that 2024/25 could – and probably should – continue to extend.
All statistics per Premier League – correct as of 09-01-2025.
