Spurs rank as Europe’s most unlucky side this season, with Chelsea also high on the list, while Fulham and West Ham have enjoyed the least misfortune
Tottenham Hotspur have been ranked as the unluckiest club across Europe’s top five leagues during the 2025/26 season, as revealed by research from data experts at BB Sport News.
The study assessed teams from the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, LaLiga and Ligue 1 using a combination of expected points versus actual points, cumulative weeks lost to injury, and the number of times they struck the woodwork, producing a standardised ‘unlucky score’ out of 100.
Tottenham top the overall European rankings with a score of 69.8, placing them ahead of Bundesliga side Wolfsburg and Premier League rivals Chelsea. Serie A club Verona and Bundesliga outfit Mainz also feature prominently among the most affected teams.
A major factor behind Tottenham’s position is the scale of their injury problems, with the club losing a cumulative 243 weeks to injuries across the campaign – the highest figure recorded in the study – with season-long absentees Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison contributing heavily to the total.
Premier League: Spurs top, Chelsea and Newcastle follow
Within the Premier League, Tottenham rank as the most unlucky side, followed by Chelsea and Newcastle United.
Chelsea place third across Europe and second domestically, having underperformed their expected points total by 8.6 while also hitting the woodwork 16 times this season – one of the highest totals in the league.
Newcastle and Crystal Palace also rank highly for misfortune, with both sides combining significant injury disruption with underperformance against their underlying numbers.
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At the other end of the spectrum, Fulham and West Ham emerge as the Premier League’s least affected teams. Both clubs have benefited from relatively low injury totals and fewer negative swings in key metrics compared to their rivals.
| UNLUCKIEST PREMIER LEAGUE TEAMS 2025/26 | |||||
| Rank | Club | xPTS Diff | Weeks lost to injury | Woodwork | Unlucky score |
| 1 | Tottenham | -5.2 | 243 | 8 | 69.8 |
| 2 | Chelsea | -8.6 | 174 | 16 | 65.2 |
| 3 | Newcastle | -6.2 | 159 | 18 | 61.9 |
| 4 | Crystal Palace | -6 | 161 | 12 | 57 |
| 5 | Burnley | -1.9 | 177 | 9 | 54.4 |
| 6 | Brighton | -2 | 156 | 11 | 51.9 |
| 7 | Liverpool | 0.3 | 148 | 14 | 51 |
| 8 | Bournemouth | -1.6 | 138 | 14 | 50.4 |
| 9 | Brentford | -3.1 | 124 | 13 | 47.9 |
| 10 | Arsenal | 2.9 | 138 | 10 | 43.4 |
| 11 | Nottingham Forest | -2.4 | 134 | 6 | 43.4 |
| 12 | Wolves | -14.2 | 71 | 10 | 43.3 |
| 13 | Manchester City | 7.6 | 132 | 15 | 42.7 |
| 14 | Leeds | -10.5 | 66 | 9 | 38.5 |
| 15 | Manchester United | 5.7 | 88 | 18 | 37.7 |
| 16 | Everton | 8.4 | 86 | 15 | 32.6 |
| 17 | Sunderland | 10.8 | 114 | 10 | 32.1 |
| 18 | Aston Villa | 16 | 114 | 13 | 30.5 |
| 19 | West Ham | -5.3 | 62 | 4 | 29.1 |
| 20 | Fulham | 4 | 83 | 7 | 28.6 |
| AVERAGE | -0.57 | 128 | 11.6 | 45.6 | |
Across Europe: Bundesliga and Serie A clubs heavily represented
Beyond England, clubs from the Bundesliga and Serie A dominate the upper end of the rankings.
Wolfsburg rank second overall with an ‘unlucky score’ of 67.8, driven largely by 214 weeks lost to injury, while fellow German sides Mainz and Werder Bremen also place inside the top seven.
In Serie A, Verona stand out for a different reason. Despite not suffering the same injury volume as some rivals, they have underperformed their expected points by a remarkable 20.3, which is the largest gap recorded across Europe’s top five leagues. Fiorentina and Pisa also feature among the most unlucky teams in Italy.
Elsewhere, Barcelona are the highest-ranked LaLiga side, with their position influenced in part by hitting the woodwork 29 times, the most of any club analysed.
Luckiest teams: Dortmund, Atlético, AC Milan
At the opposite end of the scale, several clubs have experienced relatively little misfortune during the campaign.
Out of the 96 teams in Europe’s top five leagues, giants like AC Milan (80), Atlético Madrid (85) and Borussia Dortmund (83) rank among the most fortunate.
Real Mallorca are the club who can consider themselves the ‘luckiest’ in this study, with Ligue 1 sides Angers and Rennes close behind.
| EUROPE’S UNLUCKIEST TEAMS 2025/26 | ||||||
| Rank | Club | League | xPTS Diff | Weeks lost to injury | Woodwork | Unlucky score |
| 1 | Tottenham | Premier League | -5.2 | 243 | 8 | 69.8 |
| 2 | Wolfsburg | Bundesliga | -8 | 214 | 10 | 67.8 |
| 3 | Chelsea | Premier League | -8.6 | 174 | 16 | 65.2 |
| 4 | Verona | Serie A | -20.3 | 147 | 10 | 63.9 |
| 5 | Mainz | Bundesliga | -7.4 | 166 | 16 | 62.6 |
| 6 | Newcastle | Premier League | -6.2 | 159 | 18 | 61.9 |
| 7 | Werder Bremen | Bundesliga | -6.7 | 190 | 8 | 60.1 |
| 8 | Pisa | Serie A | -16 | 137 | 10 | 58.4 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | Premier League | -6 | 161 | 12 | 57 |
| 10 | Burnley | Premier League | -1.9 | 177 | 9 | 54.4 |
| 11 | Juventus | Serie A | -0.9 | 132 | 19 | 52.9 |
| 12 | Brighton | Premier League | -2 | 156 | 11 | 51.9 |
| 13 | Borussia Monchengladbach | Bundesliga | -4.7 | 149 | 10 | 51.7 |
| 14 | Liverpool | Premier League | 0.3 | 148 | 14 | 51 |
| 15 | FC Köln | Bundesliga | -7.1 | 139 | 9 | 50.7 |
| 16 | Bournemouth | Premier League | -1.6 | 138 | 14 | 50.4 |
| 17 | Fiorentina | Serie A | -12.8 | 95 | 13 | 49.7 |
| 18 | Barcelona | LaLiga | 14.1 | 131 | 29 | 49.3 |
| 19 | Heidenheim | Bundesliga | -13.1 | 118 | 6 | 48.7 |
| 20 | Brentford | Premier League | -3.1 | 124 | 13 | 47.9 |
| 21 | Lille | Ligue 1 | 3.6 | 141 | 15 | 47.7 |
| 22 | Monaco | Ligue 1 | 2.8 | 162 | 9 | 47.5 |
| 23 | Athletic Club | LaLiga | -8.3 | 118 | 9 | 47.4 |
| 24 | Nice | Ligue 1 | -4 | 151 | 5 | 47.3 |
| 25 | Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 0.1 | 128 | 14 | 47 |
| 26 | Cagliari | Serie A | -1.3 | 146 | 8 | 46.7 |
| 27 | Napoli | Serie A | 14.1 | 176 | 15 | 46.5 |
| 28 | Girona | LaLiga | -0.3 | 155 | 6 | 46 |
| 29 | Union Berlin | Bundesliga | -8.4 | 106 | 10 | 45.9 |
| 30 | Lazio | Serie A | 5.7 | 143 | 12 | 43.9 |
| 31 | Metz | Ligue 1 | -11.2 | 104 | 5 | 43.4 |
| 32 | Arsenal | Premier League | 2.9 | 138 | 10 | 43.4 |
| 33 | Nottingham Forest | Premier League | -2.4 | 134 | 6 | 43.4 |
| 34 | Wolves | Premier League | -14.2 | 71 | 10 | 43.3 |
| 35 | Hamburg | Bundesliga | 1 | 121 | 12 | 43.1 |
| 36 | Bayern Munich | Bundesliga | 6.6 | 109 | 20 | 43 |
| 37 | Manchester City | Premier League | 7.6 | 132 | 15 | 42.7 |
| 38 | RB Leipzig | Bundesliga | 8.2 | 117 | 19 | 42.5 |
| 39 | Real Madrid | LaLiga | 6.3 | 131 | 13 | 41.8 |
| 40 | Atalanta | Serie A | -2.6 | 92 | 14 | 41.8 |
| 41 | Frankfurt | Bundesliga | 2.6 | 129 | 10 | 41.8 |
| 42 | Lecce | Serie A | -2.6 | 121 | 7 | 41.7 |
| 43 | St Pauli | Bundesliga | -2.3 | 130 | 5 | 41.6 |
| 44 | Sassuolo | Serie A | 7.4 | 154 | 8 | 41.3 |
| 45 | Cremonese | Serie A | -5.6 | 105 | 7 | 40.8 |
| 46 | Valencia | LaLiga | -11.1 | 66 | 11 | 40.7 |
| 47 | Parma | Serie A | 5.6 | 135 | 10 | 40.6 |
| 48 | Auxerre | Ligue 1 | -11.1 | 68 | 10 | 40.2 |
| 49 | Nantes | Ligue 1 | -10.5 | 53 | 14 | 40.1 |
| 50 | Lorient | Ligue 1 | 2.3 | 119 | 10 | 39.9 |
| 51 | Bologna | Serie A | 1.2 | 88 | 16 | 39.6 |
| 52 | Leeds | Premier League | -10.5 | 66 | 9 | 38.5 |
| 53 | Genoa | Serie A | -5.9 | 92 | 7 | 38.4 |
| 54 | Real Betis | LaLiga | -1.5 | 75 | 15 | 38.3 |
| 55 | PSG | Ligue 1 | 1.7 | 82 | 16 | 38 |
| 56 | Manchester United | Premier League | 5.7 | 88 | 18 | 37.7 |
| 57 | Sevilla | LaLiga | 2.4 | 111 | 9 | 37.4 |
| 58 | Inter | Serie A | 10.9 | 101 | 19 | 37.1 |
| 59 | Toulouse | Ligue 1 | -3.7 | 85 | 9 | 36.9 |
| 60 | Hoffenheim | Bundesliga | 10.3 | 118 | 14 | 36.8 |
| 61 | Como | Serie A | -0.8 | 95 | 9 | 36.6 |
| 62 | Paris | Ligue 1 | 4.4 | 99 | 12 | 35.9 |
| 63 | Le Havre | Ligue 1 | -5.8 | 58 | 12 | 35.6 |
| 64 | Strasbourg | Ligue 1 | -2.1 | 92 | 7 | 35.3 |
| 65 | Freiburg | Bundesliga | 1.2 | 90 | 9 | 34 |
| 66 | Torino | Serie A | -0.2 | 97 | 6 | 34 |
| 67 | Rayo Vallecano | LaLiga | -10.6 | 37 | 10 | 33.4 |
| 68 | Roma | Serie A | 7.5 | 120 | 7 | 33.4 |
| 69 | Udinese | Serie A | 4.9 | 93 | 11 | 33.4 |
| 70 | Villarreal | LaLiga | 10.3 | 123 | 8 | 32.6 |
| 71 | Everton | Premier League | 8.4 | 86 | 15 | 32.6 |
| 72 | Lyon | Ligue 1 | 9.5 | 118 | 8 | 32.2 |
| 73 | Sunderland | Premier League | 10.8 | 114 | 10 | 32.1 |
| 74 | Stuttgart | Bundesliga | 8.6 | 126 | 5 | 32 |
| 75 | Marseille | Ligue 1 | 0.9 | 72 | 10 | 31.4 |
| 76 | Real Sociedad | LaLiga | -1.9 | 67 | 8 | 30.9 |
| 77 | Aston Villa | Premier League | 16 | 114 | 13 | 30.5 |
| 78 | West Ham | Premier League | -5.3 | 62 | 4 | 29.1 |
| 79 | Levante | LaLiga | -4.6 | 39 | 10 | 29 |
| 80 | AC Milan | Serie A | 8.7 | 74 | 14 | 29 |
| 81 | Augsburg | Bundesliga | 3.6 | 62 | 12 | 28.9 |
| 82 | Fulham | Premier League | 4 | 83 | 7 | 28.6 |
| 83 | Dortmund | Bundesliga | 10.7 | 96 | 9 | 27.6 |
| 84 | Brest | Ligue 1 | -3 | 40 | 8 | 26.2 |
| 85 | Atletico Madrid | LaLiga | 8.4 | 64 | 12 | 25.4 |
| 86 | Alaves | LaLiga | -9.3 | 8 | 7 | 23.8 |
| 87 | Lens | Ligue 1 | 10.6 | 80 | 8 | 23.5 |
| 88 | Osasuna | LaLiga | -2.2 | 23 | 9 | 22.9 |
| 89 | Real Oviedo | LaLiga | -1.6 | 17 | 9 | 21.2 |
| 90 | Elche | LaLiga | -0.2 | 35 | 6 | 21.2 |
| 91 | Espanyol | LaLiga | 0.3 | 26 | 6 | 19 |
| 92 | Celta Vigo | LaLiga | -2.3 | 26 | 3 | 18.5 |
| 93 | Getafe | LaLiga | 6.1 | 53 | 3 | 17.3 |
| 94 | Rennes | Ligue 1 | 8.7 | 33 | 9 | 16.2 |
| 95 | Angers | Ligue 1 | 4.6 | 35 | 4 | 15.6 |
| 96 | Mallorca | LaLiga | 1.5 | 24 | 3 | 15 |
Methodology
- Each team across Europe’s top five divisions was ranked based on a standardised score out of 100, calculated by their expected points versus actual points, cumulative weeks lost to injury and number of times they have hit the woodwork.
- The standardised scores were weighted, with 50% coming from the cumulative injuries, and 25% coming from both the expected points and woodwork hits.
Sources
- Expected points and woodwork hits: Opta Analyst
- Cumulative weeks lost to injury: Transfermarkt