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Southampton’s 2024-25 campaign was a miserable one, with their descent to the Championshipconfirmed by defeat to Tottenham in early April. They had seven games left to play when relegated, but where does that rank in terms of the earliest Premier League relegations in history?
With seven matches remaining, Southampton in 2024-25 are the earliest team to be relegated in Premier League history in terms of games remaining. But where does their ‘achievement’ rank in context with the rest of the competition’s history?
Here, we have the answers, first by date and then by games remaining…
Earliest Premier League Relegations by Date
Derby County: 2007-08 Season, 29 March
Huddersfield Town: 2018-19 Season,30 March
Fulham: 2018-19 Season, 2 April
Leicester City: 2001-02 Season, 6 April
Southampton: 2024-25 Season, 6 April
Portsmouth: 2009-10 Season, 10 April
Sunderland: 2002-03 Season, 12 April
Leicester City: 1994-95 Season,13 April
Ipswich Town: 1994-95 Season, 14 April
Sunderland: 2005-06 Season, 14 April
Derby County
2007-08 Season, 29 March
This feels like a fitting place to start, doesn’t it? Statistically the worst team in Premier League history (in terms of their measly points total of 11), Derby also hold the record for earliest relegation by date.
The Derby team of 2007-08 continue to be the low bar against which every bad Premier League team is measured against. And although Sheffield United of 2023-24 and Southampton of 2024-25 stunk the place out somewhat, no team compares to Derby in 2007-08 (yet).
Their relegation was confirmed on 29 March 2008 after a 2-2 draw with Fulham and Birmingham City’s 3-1 win over Manchester City, by which point they’d gone 26 games without a win. It made the Rams the first top-flight club to be relegated as early as March since Sheffield United in 1975-76.
Huddersfield Town
2018-19 Season, 30 March
A 2-0 loss at Crystal Palace on 30 March 2019 officially sent Huddersfield down in 2018-19, though their return to the Championship had long been on the cards – and that’s putting it kindly.
After earning a couple of wins in November, Huddersfield embarked on a run of a single victory and 16 defeats in 18 matches leading up to that ultimately decisive defeat at Selhurst Park.
A couple of draws to end the season did little to prevent them posting what at the time was the third-worst points total in Premier League history (16).
Fulham
2018-19 Season, 2 April
You wouldn’t think it to look at the table in retrospect, but Fulham were relegated in 2018-19 just three days later than Huddersfield.
The Cottagers were hammered 4-1 on the day their relegation was confirmed, before enjoying a run of three successive league wins. It was too little, too late, though those victories did ensure their points total of 26 at the end of the season was somewhat less galling.
So, despite following up Huddersfield’s relegation so quickly, Fulham ended up finishing 10 points better off.
We’re not hugely convinced that was a great consolation at the time, though.
Leicester City
2001-02 Season, 6 April
The 2001-02 season was a tumultuous one for Leicester. They went through as many as four managers over the course of the campaign and had their relegation confirmed in early April after a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.
A winless run of nearly four months from the start of December proved costly, though they went unbeaten across their final four games of the campaign, making their points total look at little more respectable at 28.
Nevertheless, it was a bitterly disappointing end to the club’s time at Filbert Street, even if they did win their final game there against Tottenham.
Southampton
2024-25 Season, 6 April
While Southampton’s 2024-25 set a new record for the earliest relegation in terms of games remaining (more on that later), by date they are only the joint-fourth earliest side to be relegated.
After promotion via the play-offs, there was optimism that Southampton could re-establish themselves in the top flight. But the campaign quickly unravelled.
Russell Martin, who led the team up, was dismissed after 16 games – his position untenable following a 5-0 home thrashing by Spurs. His insistence on playing out from the back, despite lacking the players to execute that style, proved costly.
His successor, Ivan Jurić, arrived with a mixed reputation following a brief, underwhelming stint at Roma. Hired in hope more than expectation, Jurić failed to stop the slide.
It was Tottenham once again – this time in the reverse fixture – who put Southampton out of their misery. Jurić was promptly relieved of his duties. Simon Rusk took interim charge for the last seven games of the season.
Portsmouth
2009-10 Season, 10 April
Granted, this one probably needs an asterisk. Portsmouth were deducted nine points in March 2010 for entering administration, and while that didn’t officially confirm their relegation, it might as well have.
Even if they were given those nine points back, they’d have still finished bottom with 28. They were also in last place from Matchday 2 all the way through until the end of the season.
However, relegation wouldn’t have been confirmed anywhere near as early as 10 April considering 17th-placed West Ham only finished five points (35) clear of the other relegated clubs, Burnley and Hull City.
Earliest Premier League Relegations by Games Remaining
Southampton: 2024-25 Season, Seven Games Remaining
Ipswich Town: 1994-95 Season, Six Games Remaining
Derby County: 2007-08 Season, Six Games Remaining
Huddersfield Town: 2018-19 Season, Six Games Remaining
Sheffield United: 2020-21 Season, Six Games Remaining
Leicester City: 1994-95 Season, Five Games Remaining
Sunderland: 2002-03 Season, Five Games Remaining
Sunderland: 2005-06 Season, Five Games Remaining
Portsmouth: 2009-10 Season, Five Games Remaining
Fulham: 2018-19 Season, Five Games Remaining
Wolves: 2025-26 Season, Five Games Remaining
Southampton
Seven Games Remaining, 2024-25 Season
While Southampton in 2024-25 survived suffering the earliest relegation in Premier League history in terms date, they weren’t so lucky when it came to games remaining. They are the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with seven games still to play. That’s 18.4% of the campaign still to go.
They did, however, avoid setting a new record for the fewest points ever recorded in a Premier League season. With 12 points, they avoided falling below Derby County’s infamous 11-point haul in 2007-08.
Ipswich Town
Six Games Remaining, 1994-95 Season
Well, we’ll start with a couple of quick caveats here: 1994-95 was a 42-game season, and four teams were relegated. So, going down with six games to go then wasn’t quite as dismal as it would be in a 38-game campaign.
But still, Ipswich’s three-year stay in the Premier League ended abruptly in 1995 as they failed to recover from a terrible start to the season that saw them lose 11 of their first 15 games.
It was also the same season that they suffered a 9-0 humiliation at the hands of Manchester United at Old Trafford, which remains the joint-biggest win in Premier League history.
Derby County
Six Games Remaining, 2007-08 Season
There isn’t a lot more to say about the Derby County of 2007-08…
Huddersfield Town
Six Games Remaining, 2018-19 Season
Huddersfield were fortunate to get a second consecutive season in the Premier League after their 2017 promotion, considering they scored just 28 goals in 2017-18 – that equalled a recorded for the fewest goals by a non-relegated team.
There probably hasn’t been a more obvious sufferer of Second Season Syndrome than Huddersfield in 2018-19, and it surprised no one to see them go down with a good chunk of the campaign to go.
Sheffield United
Six Games Remaining, 2020-21 Season
Sheffield United were appalling in 2023-24, but they still didn’t get relegated with as many games still to play as they did in 2020-21, when there were still six left.
The Blades had actually earned admirers the season before when finishing ninth in the Premier League, which was the fourth-highest finish by a promoted team since the turn of the century.
But they spent the entirety of 2020-21 in the bottom three and ultimately finished 16 points adrift of safety.
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