Wolverhampton Wanderers lost their ninth game from 11 attempts in the Premier League on Saturday night against Chelsea to maintain their winless start to the season – and one glaring statistic shows exactly where they are going wrong.
Wolves started extremely poorly in the Premier League under Vitor Pereira, losing all three of their fixtures against the newly promoted sides, and with just two points from 10 games, that rang true once again with the Portuguese boss being sacked.
A caretaker team led by James Collins took charge of their 3-0 loss to Chelsea on Saturday night, with the Blues running out comfortable winners in another dismal defeat for the Molineux outfit.
And with that in mind, a glaring statistic has emerged from the loss at Stamford Bridge which highlights just why Wolves are in the predicament they’re in this season.
Defensive statistic shows why Wolves are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League
Although Wolves managed to keep Chelsea out in the first half, the Blues had 11 shots, forced Sam Johnstone into three saves, and completed 364 passes compared to the Old Gold’s 139.
That relentless pressure eventually told just after the break when Malo Gusto put Chelsea ahead, and with Joao Pedro and Pedro Neto sticking the dagger in, it represented yet another bad day at the office for the Molineux side.
Interim boss James Collins opted with a back five consisting of Jackson Tchatchoua and Hugo Bueno on the flanks, whilst Santiago Bueno, Ladislav Krejci and Toti Gomes were all in the centre of defence.
However, solid performances from Alejandro Garnacho and former Wolves man Pedro Neto tormented their backline.
So much so, that in terms of ground duels won, Sofascore stated that left wing-back Hugo Bueno only recorded two successful ground duels from 10 attempts.
He wasn’t helped by his namesake, Santiago Bueno. He also recorded just two ground duels won, albeit from a better five attempts.
Toti Gomes was the only strong performer with another two won from two attempts, but even then, that isn’t enough in terms of winning the ball to keep possession.
Ladislav Krejci didn’t win a single duel all game, and Jackson Tchatchoua only managed to win the ball once off a Chelsea player.
Overall, that was just seven duels won from 21 – a 33 percent success rate.
When you are only winning one-third of your battles in the Premier League, it means the other side are doubling the chances to create something after winning possession – and it’s fighting a losing battle from there. It will have been even tougher to take knowing that former star Neto was the orchestrator against Hugo Bueno.
Wolves’ defensive problems have been evident since the start of last season
It took Wolves 11 games to win their first Premier League fixture last season, but the difference was that there were also fellow struggling sides in Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich – all of whom were relegated.
This season, there is little to suggest that will be the case. Despite Leeds and Burnley somewhat struggling to an extent, they are still both on 10 points.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 16 |  LeedsLeeds | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 10 | 20 | -10 | 11 |
| 17 |  BurnleyBurnley | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 14 | 22 | -8 | 10 |
| 18 |  West HamWest Ham | 11 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 13 | 23 | -10 | 10 |
| 19 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 20 | -10 | 9 |
| 20 |  WolvesWolves | 11 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 25 | -18 | 2 |
Sunderland are evidently flying, sitting fourth in the table after 11 games, and it looks like an established Premier League team will finish below them.
At this moment in time, that is Wolves. Last season’s start was a huge warning with 27 goals conceded in 10 games, and with 25 put past them in 11 games this time around, the signs are there. Rob Edwards has a lot to fix once his move to Wolves is confirmed later in the week.