Wolves find themselves in a precarious position in the Premier League after only picking up two points from their first nine matches.
The Old Gold’s start to the 2024/25 campaign has been nothing short of horrendous. Gary O’Neil’s side have been unable to shake their poor form from last season and now find themselves in the relegation zone.
While Wolves’ dramatic comeback versus Brighton could be a pivotal turning point, Crystal Palace’s victory on Sunday now means that the Old Gold are four points adrift from safety.
Therefore, the upcoming showdown versus the Eagles on Saturday could make or break for the Wolves squad as they risk being cut adrift.
However, one statistic has indicated that O’Neil’s side are unlikely to survive the drop no matter what the Palace result is.
Wolves have a 22.2% chance of survival based on previous Premier League sides
Since the Premier League began, only 11 teams have picked up two points or less from their opening nine games. This includes two sides from the 2024/25 campaign in Wolves and Southampton.
When examining these teams, many could not recover their form and were eventually relegated to the Championship.
Only two clubs have managed to survive the drop after picking up two points or less. Southampton were the first to achieve this feat in the 1998/99 campaign when they finished 17th with 41 points.
Following this, 20 years later, Newcastle United repeated the feat as they finished 13th in the final table with 45 points.
For the other seven sides who endured this awful start, they were relegated.
Based on this, Wolves’ current odds of beating the drop sits at 22.2%, a grim reading for many of the Molineux faithful.
Wolves vs Crystal Palace will be make or break for Gary O’Neil
Quite simply, Wolves have to beat Crystal Palace. A victory would put the Old Gold just one point off the Eagles, proving that the situation is savable.
However, a defeat would put the club seven points adrift which would almost certainly lead to relegation.
With much being said about how difficult Wolves’ opening fixtures have been, they now need to capitalise on their easier run.
In order to gain momentum, a victory against Palace would point the club in the right direction, and by the end of November, the Old Gold could be back in mid-table.
However, if O’Neil fails to get this all-important result, his time could well be up.