Tottenham will be relegated from Premier League after Sunderland defeat, worrying statistic suggests

Tottenham Hotspur are on course for relegation from the Premier League after their 1-0 defeat to Sunderland, according to one worrying statistic.

Roberto De Zerbi's Spurs debut ended in a familiarly disappointing manner for Lilywhites fans, whose side are still waiting for their first Premier League win of 2026.

Nordi Mukiele's deflected effort made the difference at the Stadium of Light, where Spurs also had a penalty overturned and lost a tearful Cristian Romero to injury in the second half.

The Europa League winners' most recent Premier League victory came back in December against Crystal Palace, and their winless run in the division now stands at an alarming 14 games since the start of 2026.

Only three teams have ever started a calendar year with a longer winless run in the Premier League, and on all three previous occasions, those sides were relegated from the top flight.

Tottenham winless in 14 Premier League games in 2026

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The unwanted record for the longest Premier League winless run at the start of a calendar year is the infamous Derby County side of 2007-08, who won none of their 18 top-flight matches in 2008 and went down with the lowest points total in tournament history.

Meanwhile, Sunderland failed to win any of their 17 Premier League matches in 2003 and were demoted to the second tier in 20th place, claiming just 19 points throughout the entire season.

Finally, Swindon Town did not triumph in any of their first 15 Premier League contests in 1993 - having been promoted to the top flight the season before - and also finished bottom of the rankings that year

With West Ham United thrashing Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-0 on Friday and Nottingham Forest claiming a point from a 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday, Spurs are two points adrift of safety in the Premier League table with six games left to play.

The Lilywhites now prepare to face De Zerbi's former club Brighton & Hove Albion next weekend, before doing battle with Championship-bound Wolverhampton Wanderers at the end of the month.

Why Tottenham "don't need a coach" in Premier League relegation battle

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De Zerbi was quizzed by BBC Match of the Day following his first defeat as Tottenham boss, and the Italian insisted that his players need familial figures more than they need trainers right now.

"I can be a big brother, father, they don't need a coach," De Zerbi said. "They don't need to improve football. They can play better and they will play better once we reach a different level of confidence."

The former Brighton head coach also revealed what needs to happen for 'everything to change' for the Europa League holders, when asked if he is excited for the challenge.

"Absolutely. I'm sure if we are able to win a game then everything will change," De Zerbi concluded.

De Zerbi has also become just the second of the last 11 Tottenham managers to lose his first game in charge, after Igor Tudor oversaw a 4-1 reverse to Arsenal on his Lilywhites debut.