Are Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Leeds United already doomed to Premier League relegation?

As the 2025-26 Premier League season marches towards its 13th matchday, the league table is finally settling into a familiar rhythm, with title champions and relegation candidates emerging ever more clearly.

Although the relegation battle remains tight on points, worrying signs already suggest that the current bottom three may be in danger of drifting away from the rest of the pack and are increasingly looking destined for the drop.

While the bottom three continue to struggle for results and form, the teams above them are beginning to improve their performance levels and pick up points on a more regular basis, threatening to leave the strugglers stranded in the relegation zone as a result.

In this article, Sports Mole take a closer look at why Wolverhampton Wanderers, Burnley and Leeds United may already be doomed to suffering Premier League relegation.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

Wolves have faced a catastrophic start to the 2025-26 Premier League season, enduring a run of results so bleak that they find themselves rooted to the bottom of the table with such a points tally that makes relegation look almost inevitable.

The Old Gold remain the only team in the division yet to record a victory after 12 Premier League matches, with their two points - from two draws and nine defeats - leaving them already nine points adrift of safety.

Wolves' goalscoring exploits were a large reason for their survival last term, with only Tottenham Hotspur managing more than their 54 goals scored in the bottom eight of the division last season, but that has become one of the Old Gold's biggest weaknesses this time around.

Wolves have scored just seven goals in their 12 fixtures, four fewer than the next lowest scorers Leeds (11), and the signs are certainly worrying.

They lost last term's top scorer Matheus Cunha in the summer, while Jorgen Strand Larsen, who netted 14 league goals in 2024-25, has seen his shots on target drop from 1.0 per game to just 0.5 per 90 minutes this campaign, resulting in the striker managing only one goal so far this year.

Furthermore, the Old Gold have already shipped 27 goals, are currently undergoing another period of change under new manager Rob Edwards and their confidence is at an all-time low, meaning Wolves face a brutal uphill battle if they are to have any chance of survival.

So bad is their situation that even Derby County, who currently hold the record for the least points in a Premier League season (11 in 2007-08) already had six points at this stage of the campaign, leaving Wolves facing a race to avoid setting a new record, let alone to ensure their survival.

Burnley

Burnley's return to the Premier League was framed around organisation and tactical solidity, conceding just 16 goals in 46 Championship matches as they secured a second-placed finish in 2024-25.

However, their early-season results have already exposed the gulf in quality between the Championship and Premier League, as Scott Parker's side have struggled to deal with the attacking quality on show in the top division.

Burnley have already conceded 24 goals in just 12 league fixtures, while they have scored only 14 - even that figure exceeds what the underlying numbers suggest, with a league-low expected goals (xG) of just 8.70, 1.90xG fewer than next-lowest Sunderland with 10.60xG.

While the Clarets have managed to secure three victories, two have come against fellow relegation candidates Wolves and Leeds, while the other came on matchday two against newly-promoted Sunderland, further highlighting their lack of quality compared to the rest of the division.

With their ongoing struggles at either end of the pitch, as well as their clearly inferior squads to the relegation rivals above them, it is no wonder that Burnley are among many people's favourites to suffer the drop this term.

Leeds United

Finally, Leeds United initially started strong with a superb 1-0 home victory over Everton, followed by recording another five points in their next five games, but they have now suffered five defeats in their last six league fixtures.

While the intensity of Leeds' play remains high, their lack of goals remains a problem, with just 11 goals scored in 12 matches, and they are often far too easy to attack against, highlighted by conceding a significant 22 league goals.

Consistent performers such as Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk have also started to struggle, while Daniel Farke's insistence on playing the same style has meant teams have started to figure out how to beat this Leeds team.

All of their biggest problems were demonstrated in the recent 2-1 loss to Aston Villa on matchday 12, missing a number of major opportunities while also conceding two soft goals, meaning they fell to yet another defeat.

Farke's track record will also be a worry for Leeds fans moving forward, with the German having a dismal record during his past Premier League experience as Norwich City manager, recording just six wins and eight draws from 49 fixtures.

The escaping rivals

While there are clear problems that Wolves, Burnley and Leeds are all contending with, that alone would not be enough to suggest that relegation is already likely at this point of the campaign.

However, combined with the improving form and superior strength of the teams above them in the relegation battle, it is clear to see why these three sides are hotly tipped for the drop this term.

West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham are all beginning to find form in recent matches, with these three teams suffering only one defeat between them in their last three fixtures combined.

Furthermore, all of these teams, as well as Brentford, have multiple talismanic players in their squad that could play a key role in leading their teams to safety - something the current bottom three are mostly lacking.

The likes of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen, Morgan Gibbs-White, Raul Jimenez and Igor Thiago, just to name a few, are more than capable of single-handedly leading their team to three points, as already demonstrated throughout this campaign.

Leeds and Burnley simply lack players of that same quality, while Wolves' Larsen would expect to be that star, but their lack of attacking creativity has left the striker with little involvement on a match-to-match basis.

Overall, while there is admittedly a long way still to go in the Premier League season, and the relegation race is almost certain to take several twists and turns along the way, there are plenty of signs that suggest the current bottom three may already be doomed to the drop.