Top 10 Worst Team Ever in Premier League - Ranked

The English media focuses a lot on the best teams and players, but not many bat an eye towards the worst Premier League team, and that is quite an interesting list. It is evident that the Premier League, widely regarded as the best league in the world, consistently features numerous dominant and challenging teams. However, it does the very opposite as well. These teams often disappoint on the biggest stage and have cemented themselves in the list of the worst Premier League teams.

Some of the teams mentioned on our list have done well in their domestic competitions, but we have compiled our list by picking the 10 worst PL teams from a particular season. This post also features a bonus section of some of the worst teams of the Premier League this season. But before we get into that, we have justified our rankings with a criteria section that helped us choose the 10 worst Premier League teams of all time.

List of Worst Premier League Teams

The table below consists of the 10 worst team ever in Premier League based on the ranking factors such as how they failed to meet the expectations of the club fans and their finish in the respective edition of one of the most watched leagues in the world.

How we Ranked the Worst Team in Premier League History?

The top 10 worst football teams in the Premier League will be ranked fairly on the basis of a few ranking factors. The ranking factors are as mentioned below:

Failing To Meet Expectations: Some Premier League teams are amongst the best in the world, however, they fail to live up to their expectations and underperform way more than expected. This factor is crucial and more important since teams of big reputations, legacy and accolades often underperform as well and their campaign is usually deemed worse than the teams that get relegated or are expected to perform poorly.

Lowest Statistical Finish: The teams that finish in 18th, 19th and 20th position are the real contenders to be termed as the worst team in Premier League history. However, some of these teams are barely able to garner a few wins and points and have a very poor GD and at times have a lot of losses as well, making them eligible for the title of worst Premier League team.

Who is the Worst Premier League Team Ever?

The detailed list of the worst team ever in Premier League gives brief information about the worst Premier League team and how poorly they performed in the mentioned edition of the English Premier League.

10) Manchester United (2024-2025)

At the very start of our list of the worst team ever in the Premier League, we have the Old Trafford side, who are also the most successful club in the English Premier League with 20 first division titles. The team that has been at its best in the last decade has faced a landslide in terms of form in the last couple of Premier League Seasons. In the last season, where the team was said to be in transition after Erik Ten Hag was sacked mid-season saw Nistelrooy took over as the interim coach of the Red Devils, followed by the appointment of Ruben Amorim as their head coach.

Amidst all the hustle and bustle at Old Trafford, United almost slipped into the relegation zone but survived, as they managed to win enough games. In the 2024/25 season, they finished in 15th position above Wolves and Tottenham Hotspur with 42 points, nullifying all the expectations of fans they had before the commencement of the season.

9) Watford (2021-2022)

Watford made many signings ahead of the 2021-2022 Premier League season, having signed English footballer Mattie Pollock, Moussa Sissoko, Imran Louza, and Kwadwo Baah. At that time, Xisco Munez led them to promotion from the Championship and was meant to take the helm in the Premier League as well. Under Xisco, Watford even beat Aston Villa on the opening day however, Munez was sacked after seven games in October 2021.

After this, Claudio Ranieri was hired to fill in his boots, and he then went on to win only two matches against Everton and Manchester Based club Manchester United from October till January. Due to this poor record, Ranieri was sacked as well and then Roy Hodgson was brought in to salvage whatever was left of the remainder of the season.

The club’s poor management and inability to keep faith in a single manager, which led to hiring three managers in a single PL season, ruined everything. Watford finished in 19th place in the 2021-2022 PL season with only 23 points, winning only five matches, drawing six, and losing a staggering 27.

8) Huddersfield Town (2018-2019)

Huddersfield Town had just attained promotion to the Premier League in the 2017-2018 season and managed to just survive, finishing in 16th place, avoiding relegation. However, they failed horribly to repeat this again and had a very poor showing in the 2018-2019 season. Their coach, David Wagner, had led them to promotion to the Premier League was perhaps undeservedly sacked mid-season and it did not yield a good result for Huddersfield.

Huddersfield finished in 20th position in the 2018-2019 season with just 16 points to their name, winning only three games, drawing seven and losing a staggering 28. They have not managed to come close to qualifying for the Premier League ever since.

7) Sheffield United (2023-2024)

The Blades broke a lot of new records in the 2023-2024 Premier League season but none of them actually mattered since these are the worst records one can break. Championship side Sheffield United set a new record for the most goals conceded (104) in a Premier League season consisting of 38 matches. They also became the first team in the history of the English Premier League football to concede five goals in four consecutive games across all competitions. They lost 6-0 at Arsenal, then proceeded to sustain heavy defeats to Brighton, Aston Villa and then Brighton again in the FA Cup.

Unfortunately for them their 6-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal was not even their worst defeat in that season since they lost 8-0 to Newcastle United at their home stadium, Bramall Lane, early on as well. Out of the 106 goals Sheffield United conceded in that season, 57 goals were at their home stadium, Bramall Lane. Eventually, Sheffield United finished in 20th position with just 16 points, winning only three matches, drawing seven and losing a staggering 28.

6) Ipswich Town (1994-1995)

Ipswich Town had the worst start to the season in the 1994-1995 PL campaign and this is surely their worst campaign ever, ranking them at 6th position in our list of the worst Premier League team ever. Ipswich lost 11 of their first 15 matches after which manager John Lyall was sacked in December after four years of leading them. The 2nd tier team Ipswich Town then hired George Burley and even he could not save them from their inevitable doom.

They ended up finishing bottom of the table with just 27 points and their 93 goals conceded is the third most in the history of the Premier League, which solidifies their 6th rank in our list of the worst team ever in Premier League. To make things worse, this includes a humiliating 9-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.

5) Aston Villa (2015-2016)

The 2015-2016 season tarnished their legacy a bit since it was arguably their worst season ever. Aston Villa were doing well in the late 2000s under Martin O’Neill since they were contending regularly for the top four. After Martin’s departure, Aston Villa’s performances just kept declining and they were at their lowest during the 2015-2016 season.

Tim Sherwood was the manager at first who was later replaced by Remi Garde, a French manager who did well at Lyon. Unfortunately, Remi failed to do well at Aston Villa and quickly became unpopular with the fans, especially after dropping English winger Jack Grealish from the squad.

Remi Gerde was sacked in March, after which Eric Black took over the reins but could not do much since the damage was done and Villa’s fate was sealed. Aston Villa finished bottom of the table with only three wins and 17 points and their relegation saw them lose their status as one of the ever-present clubs of the Premier League.

4) Bradford City (2000-2001)

Bradford City had survived against all odds in the 1999-2000 season in which they even beat Liverpool 1-0 in a famous victory. However, they dealt a fatal blow when manager Paul Jewell resigned and assistant manager Chris Hutchins took his place. He could not save Bradford City and lost his job in November after a poor start.

They had signed experienced strikers, namely Benito Carbone and Stan Collymore and still managed to become the lowest scorers in that season. Ultimately, Bradford City finished bottom of the table with just 26 points, winning only five games.

3) Sunderland (2005-2006)

The 2002-2003 season was a nightmare for Sunderland but the 2005-2006 season ended up being even worse which made them the worst team ever in Premier League. Sunderland had appointed Mick McCarthy in the 2002-2003 season and he was in charge during the relegation phase in that season but helped them work their way up in the 2005-2006 season. English top flight team Sunderland were not prepared at all for the 2005-2006 season and they lost 29 matches this time and won only three times.

Once again, since there were no signs of their form getting better, Sunderland sacked McCarthy in February to bring in Kevin Ball, who was a former Sunderland player. Kevin was unable to provide any impact but the club did win their first home game of the season on the last matchday against Fulham. Ultimately, Sunderland finished in last place with 15 points in the 2005-2006 season and broke their own record of lowest points ever, which was 19 in the 2002-2003 season.

2) Southampton (2024-2025)

The 2024-2025 season for Southampton has been disappointing and this campaign is surely their worst Premier League season ever. Their loss to Tottenham Hotspur on April 6th relegated them and this is the earliest a team has ever been relegated from the Premier League. Southampton failed to deliver with the likes of Cameron Archer and English goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale underperforming as well.

The 2024/25 English Premier League season saw the English side relegate as they ended their season in last place with 30 losses in a single season, the most by any team in our rankings of the worst team ever in Premier League.

1) Derby County (2007-2008)

The transition from the Championship to the Premier League takes a toll on many teams, with some adapting well and some not able to adapt at all. Derby County’s 2007-2008 season was arguably the worst example of how to adapt to the Premier League, as this campaign made them the worst team ever in Premier League. Billy Davies led the club from the Championship to the Premier League but was sacked and replaced by Paul Jewell in November.

Derby won 2-1 against Newcastle United in November, which was their sole victory in the entire season. The club brought in experienced players such as Danny Mills, Roy Carroll, Robbie Savage, and Alan Stubbs to bolster their ranks. Even the new signings could not do much, and Derby ended the season in last place with a record low of 11 points, winning only one match, drawing eight, and losing 29.