Nearing the tail-end of October, the headline european leagues are well underway, playing at least 7 league matches so far across the board. We’ve seen a plethora of storylines begin to develop and the most startling (in a negative way) developments will be discussed in this article. After a few months of play in the Top 5 leagues, below is ranked the Top 10 Underperforming Teams in these leagues, with number 1 being the most underwhelming side thusfar.
10. Mallorca
Mallorca have had a difficult start to their 25/26 season with them having to play both Real Madrid and FC Barcelona and having misfortune in both matches. After nine played, they have mustered two victories, two draws and five defeats. In the last campaign, they managed a top half finish, just, finishing in 10th place exactly. After an away win against Sevilla, their prospects are looking up and they’ve managed to escape the relegation zone, but still sit just above it at 17th place. Their next match is against newly-promoted Levante who are at 16th, just above them. Should they manage to find a victory against them, they can certainly shift the momentum to a positive trajectory, but as it stands, their placement is quite lackluster, especially considering the starpower present is quite notable, with LaLiga mainstays such as Vedat Muriqi, experienced striker from Kosovo, Johan Mojica of Colombia, starting left back for a high-flying Colombian team, Takuma Asano of Japan, Pablo Torre, formerly of Barcelona, and so many more. They have what it takes to turn the season around, but only time will tell how the season will end for Mallorca.
9. Celta Vigo
Another Spanish side, Celta Vigo have had a strange stange start in the Spanish top flight, Laliga. They’ve played nine matches and only lost two of them, but still being winless. Yes, that would be seven draws out of nine games. Also, this would mean only seven points, which has them firmly slotted in a relegation position, as it stands, only a point ahead of rock bottom. This odd form has also meant that they are the only team in the entire division to not have a win after nine games. A shocking truth, as they finished in a European place last season and as such as are playing in European competition, specifically the UEFA Europa League. In fact, they’ve just managed a 2-1 victory over French side Nice. Dumbfoundingly, they’ve also managed to just draw Atletico Madrid who are 4th after nine games. They have the tools at hand, though, to turn things around, and as mentioned previously, only have lost two games, the same amount as 3rd place side Villarreal, but also meaning they are ten points behind.
8. Genoa
Rock bottom of the Italian top division, the Serie A, you’d expect Genoa to be higher up the list in terms of disappointment. However, the team has only played seven matches so far, and has just recently had a solid draw against Parma, and only a tight 2-1 lost to reigning champions Napoli. Their squad is filled with promising quality and a harsh run of fixtures saw them match up against Juventus, aforementioned Napoli and Copa Italia winners Bologna, all by the margin of one goal. There is quality and experience in the side and manager Patrick Vieira has the tools to get them out of the relegation zone. A victory, for example, could even raise them up a possible five places in the table, showing the tight margins at the bottom of the Serie A after seven games. Unfortunately, the Serie A has had the least matches played in the top five european leagues at seven, so it’s hard to get an accurate picture of form, especially near the relegation zone, after such a small amount of games being played. Certainly, though, Genoa are too rich in quality to be sitting at 20th after seven matches and must hope to achieve results in the coming matches, or they could find themselves on the outside looking in in a flash.
7. Gladbach
Also only playing seven games but sitting rock bottom is Borussia Mönchengladbach of the German Bundesliga. They too, just like Genoa, have managed three draws and four losses in this rough start to the 2025/2026 season. Another heap of bad news, is the fact that their next opponent is reigning champions and league leaders Bayern Munich who are hungry for goals and points to create a gap at the top of the table. The players are top notch in the squad: Joe Scally, Giovanni Reyna of the United States, Kevin Diks of Indonesia, and Kleindienst of Germany, who’s currently out injured after having a fantastic 24/25 season. Unfortunately for Monchengladbach, the newly promoted sides in the Bundesliga are having an absolutely amazing start, with Hamburg sitting at 12th out of 18, and Köln placed at an impressive 6th place. They aren’t exactly setting goalscoring records as well, only scoring a pitiful six goals after seven games played. It’s hard to see a good run of form emerge for the struggling side, but it isn’t too shocking to see them in the relegation mix at this beginning of the season.
6. Mainz
Mainz are sitting in the 16th position of the Bundesliga, normally a playoff position that would see the team placed against a 3rd placed 2nd Bundesliga side to determine who’d play in the following campaign. But currently, Mainz are competing in the Conference League, finishing in a European place in the 24/25 season. 3rd from last is a far cry 6th place in the previous season. They sold quality players from their cinderella run last season such as striker Jonathan Burkardt who joined Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer. Their form has been quite abysmal, losing four of their last five league matches and will play Stuttgart, who are currently thirteen places above them and have won four of their last five games. When you glance at their defense, it has been shocking, as they’ve conceded eight goals in their last two league games against newly-promoted Hamburg and current runners-up Bayer Leverkusen. The competitive nature of this years’ edition of the Bundesliga makes Mainz’ prospects quite uncertain.
5. Fiorentina
2nd bottom in the Italian top flight was not on Fiorentina’s bucket list when they kicked off their season just a couple months ago. The conference league regulars have identical form to aforementioned Genoa, but have better goal difference. Differently to Genoa, though, Fiorentina finished 6th place, in European competition placement, whereas Genoa were midtable at 13th place. They have a wealth of stars: Moise Kean, David De Gea, etc. and yet are massively underperforming. They sit top of the UEFA Conference League, in contrast, but that is a lower quality competition in comparison to the Serie A, in all honesty. Funnily enough, their next match in European competition, will be against previously mentioned Mainz, who have an identical record in Europe, and could be a fascinating gauge of their genuine promise this season.
4. West Ham
West Ham can’t seem to get a foot in the door. Sitting penultimately in the English Premier League, West Ham have a shocking seven losses in nine matches, only finding four points in total after nine matches played. Considering the likes of Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen and Malick Diouf all play for their respective countries on the international stage, these stars cannot fashion quality results for club. A rotation of managers doesn’t seem to be solving the issues, as Graham Potter has been sacked already for poor results; Nuno Espirito Santo replacing him and having similar luck. The puzzle pieces aren’t clicking for West Ham and the clock is ticking. Not to mention, the promoted sides into the Premier League are all above the Hammers, as well as all being above the relegation zone too. They’ve had a generous run of fixtures in theory, playing two of the three promoted sides, and only facing Arsenal, yet to play Newcastle, Manchester City, Liverpool, and other top class sides that would normally be expected to beat a team of West Ham’s caliber. It’s getting hard to see things going better for West Ham in the future, but Nuno Espirito Santo has done well with unlikely sides before, taking Nottingham Forest from near relegation to Europa League football last season.
3. Girona
Girona were playing Champions League football last season and now are rock bottom of LaLiga after nine games played. They only have one win as well, sitting tied on points with who even have more wins than them. They’ve consistently sold their top class players, only leaving promising but unfinished talents like Yaser Asprilla and Jhon Solis and quite old yet experienced players such as Axel Witsel, leaving them scrambling for points. They’ve conceded the most goals in the entire league at a shocking nineteen in nine games, which is an average of over two goals conceded per game. Additionally, their wasteful lost to Barcelona in which they likely could have won off chances, will hamper their belief to get results. They’ve also yet to play reigning runners-up Real Madrid who are in better form than normal. On the slim brightside, they have a huge chance to escape the relegation zone as they get to play Real Oviedo who are the team directly above them in 19th at home. Should they win, they’d likely see a turn in fortune, most probably escaping the relegation zone after ten matches, but a loss or draw could prove to be a catastrophic waste that could be a huge issue later in the season.
2. Nottingham Forest
Forest have had three mangers this season. That should be enough to warn you of the chaos and disarray at the football club over the past months, but here’s some more fun facts about their embarrassing spell so far this season. They’ve had the 2nd shortest tenure of any Premier League manager to date for Ange Postecoglou. Before their first game under new manger Sean Dyche in which they won 2-0 against Porto in the Europa League, they were on a ten game winless streak, simultaneously a four game losing streak. They’ve conceded twenty-one goals in their last ten, while only scoring a meager nine. They currently sit at 18th place in the Premier League, losing five of eight, firmly in the relegation zone which is a stark difference to their last season placement at 7th where they also only lost eleven games out of thirty-eight. Before the introduction of Sean Dyche, things were looking extremely bleak, but his 2-0 dismantlement of the Portuguese league leaders was very impressive and his appointment could very possibly turn the tide for the Reds.
1. Wolves
Wolverhampton Wanderers are the single team in the Premier League to not have any wins after nine matches. They’ve lost to two of the three newly-promoted Premier League teams and have the final promoted team next (a must win) and have the joint-least goals scored in the Premier League alongside Nottingham Forest. They sold their best player from last season, Matheus Cunha who left to Manchester United and did not reinforce to the best of their ability, bar a few promising signings here and there like Jhon Arias of Colombia, but overall displaying disappointing recruitment. They’ve not had to face Arsenal or Liverpool yet, and should they not manage to find a win, and only a win, against Burnley, they stand no chance of remaining in the Premier League in all honesty. They’ve backed their manager with a multi-year extension, but it wouldn’t be a horrible decision to rethink his continuation should they remain bottom as the season progresses. As mentioned before, the Premier League is increasingly competitive with the newly-promoted teams gathering points and remaining out of the relegation zone. Unlike previous seasons, the points they’ve gathered will not be enough and they need to get statement results in order to stay in contention, which looks impossible when they’ve already played most of the teams they’re directly competing with to stay in the league.