Who are the top 5 teams with the most goals conceded after 14 games in the Premier League?
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Who are the top 5 teams with the most goals conceded after 14 games in the Premier League?

09/12/24 21:14

After 14 games of the 24/25 Premier League season, Wolverhampton Wanderers have officially had one of the worst starts ever defensively and are a shock addition to the relegation zone. So it felt appropriate to take a look at the top five teams with the most goals conceded after 14 Premier League matchdays...

5. Sheffield Wednesday - 35 goals (1997/98)

Starting off the list is a team that has not seen top-flight football since the year 2000, Wednesday are also the only team on this list to definitely survive relegation come the end of the season. Eventually finishing in 16th, the Owls had an awful start to this season conceding seven goals at Blackburn on matchday four as well as five goals at home to Derby and the eventually relegated Bolton, six goals away against Manchester United all before the turn of the year. Sheffield Wednesday went on to concede a total of 67 goals (the third highest in the league) come the end of the season. This meant that they conceded 32 goals in their final 24 games, a large improvement that was majorly to do with the appointment of Ron Atkinson in November of that season. Who steered Wednesday away from rock bottom and out of the relegation zone.

4. Fulham - 35 goals (2018/19)

Fulham’s 18/19 campaign is probably one that remains in many modern-day fans' memories, Fulham have seemingly managed to restore themselves as a Premier League regular after six seasons in a row of bouncing between the first and second tier a few years ago. This was the first of their two relegations between the years of 2018 and 2021 and by far the worst, going on to concede 81 goals, finishing in 19th place. It was a season that saw Claudio Ranieri make a third return to the Premier League at the helm of the Cottagers. Their squad also featured Aleksander Mitrovic (who finished as Fulham’s top scorer with 11 goals), Andre Schurrle, Ryan Babel and Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa. It was also the season Harvey Elliot made his debut for the club, becoming the youngest player - at the time - to play in the Premier League at 16 years and 30 days.

3. Wolverhampton Wanderers - 36 goals (2024/25)

An extremely new addition to this list, Wolves are sat in 18th, four points into the relegation zone after 14 games. It is a concerning statistic that almost every to concede more than 34 goals after 14 games has gone to face relegation, and a reality that Wolverhampton may well face if they don’t start to see change. They play today in a Monday night showdown against fellow strugglers West Ham, a loss could result in the sacking of head coach, Gary O’Neil who has been one of the main factors blamed for the poor start to the season. Whilst there has not been much to get excited about around Molineux this season, Matheus Cunha has been a diamond in the rough scoring seven goals in 14 games . The Brazilian also became the first player ever to receive three nominations for a single Premier League Goal of the Month award, achieving the feat in November.

2. Sheffield United - 39 goals (2023/24)

Another recent inclusion joining their city rivals on the list, Sheffield Untited have had a torrid last two relegations in the Premier League, including last season where they finished rock bottom. Some heavy defeats included a 5-0 loss to the eventually relegated Burnley, as well as conceding eight goals at Newcastle and five against Arsenal. In fact it took 11 games for Sheffield United to register more than a single point. By the end of the season, they had claimed the unwanted record of the most goals ever conceded in a Premier League season, as the ball hit the back of the Blades net 104 times in 38 games (averaging out to around 2.74 a game). They were the only team in the league to not register over 40 goals (scoring 35) and their topscorers, Oli McBurnie and Ben Brereton Diaz finished with just six goals each, with Diaz notably scoring six in 14 games.

1. Barnsley - 40 goals (1997/98)

Barnsley have spent just a single season in the top flight in their entire 100+ year history. And unfortunately ended it with the worst defence after 14 games in Premier League history. In the same season that Sheffield Wednesday managed to survive after their bad start, the same could not be said for the Tykes who struggled the entire year. An FA Cup quarter final appearance, knocking out Manchester United along the way was a rare highlight in a season that ended with 82 goals conceded. Their biggest struggle was against the best clubs in the league, as they lost to Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea with an aggregate score of 18-0 before the end of November. However unlike some of the others Barnsley had managed to pick up a few wins against the likes of Bolton, Crystal Palace, Coventry and more notably Liverpool. Showing how whilst their defending got slightly better in their final 24 games (conceding 42, meaning almost half their goals against came in the opening 14 fixtures) the points dried up.

Benji Kosartiyer
Journalist
James McLeish

Writer

English Premier League
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