Manchester United have struggled for much of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but they appear to have reached a new low in the 2026-27 Premier League campaign.

Although the Red Devils finished 15th in 2024-25 and were struggling again the following season before Ruben Amorim's dismissal, Michael Carrick inspired a second-half revival that saw them finish third, earning him the permanent manager's job.

However, the former England midfielder has endured a difficult start to his first full campaign in charge, with just one win from their opening nine top-flight games and none in their last seven, leaving the 20-time league champions in a precarious position.

Nottingham Forest's 3-1 victory over Manchester City on Saturday had a knock-on effect on the Premier League table, pushing United down to 18th and into the relegation zone ahead of their gameweek 10 clash with Aston Villa later on Sunday, marking their first time in the bottom three nine games into a season since 1986.

Things could get even worse if Crystal Palace avoid defeat at home to Liverpool and Sunderland beat Chelsea, as that combination would leave United bottom of the table before they even take to the pitch at Old Trafford.

With the situation looking increasingly unusual for a club of United's stature, attention turns to the other heavyweights who have found themselves in trouble, and Sports Mole looks at the worst Premier League finish of every traditional top-six side, ranked from worst to best.

Manchester City: 18th (1995-96 and 2000-01)

City's failure to win the Premier League title in back-to-back seasons in 2024-25 and 2025-26 felt like an anomaly for a club that had claimed six crowns in seven years under Pep Guardiola, but the Citizens have not always enjoyed such lofty standards.

Before Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan's takeover in 2008, City spent much of their time in mid-table and twice finished 18th in the Premier League era, suffering relegation on both occasions.

The first came in 1995-96 under Alan Ball, whose side collected just two points from their opening 11 league games before finishing the campaign with 38 points, having won nine, drawn 11 and lost 18.

The outcome went down to the final day, when City came from 2-0 down against Liverpool at half time to draw 2-2, but they were still relegated on goal difference after Ball, believing a draw would be enough, had his players run down the clock.

The Cityzens’ second relegation came in 2000-01 under Joe Royle, following back-to-back promotions, with a 4-0 opening-day defeat to Charlton Athletic setting the tone for a difficult campaign and marquee signing George Weah leaving in October after just 11 appearances.

Relegation was confirmed with defeat at Ipswich Town, leading to Royle's dismissal, before Kevin Keegan took charge and guided City straight back up as Division One champions, although it remained their third relegation in six years, a period that had also seen them drop into the third tier in 1998.

Tottenham's worst Premier League finish has now come in successive seasons, with Spurs ending both 2024-25 and 2025-26 in 17th place.

In 2024-25, Ange Postecoglou's injury-hit side lost 22 of their 38 league games, becoming the first top-flight team to suffer that many defeats and still avoid relegation, finishing on 38 points.

Remarkably, the campaign still ended with the club lifting their first European trophy in 41 years, courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Europa League final in Bilbao, although Postecoglou was sacked just 16 days later.

The following season brought even more turmoil, as Thomas Frank was dismissed in February 2026 after an eight-game winless run left Spurs 16th, before Igor Tudor lasted just 44 days prior to his own departure.

Roberto De Zerbi was then handed a long-term contract with relegation looming, and victories over Wolverhampton Wanderers and Aston Villa gave Spurs renewed hope heading into the final day.

A 1-0 home win over Everton took them to 41 points and kept them in 17th place, sending West Ham United down on 39 points despite their 3-0 victory over Leeds United.

Manchester United: 15th (2024-25)

United's lowest Premier League finish came just two seasons ago, when they ended the 2024-25 campaign in 15th place with 42 points and 44 goals scored, both representing club lows.

Erik ten Hag was sacked in October 2024 after just nine league games, only months after signing a contract extension, with Ruud van Nistelrooy taking temporary charge before Amorim inherited a side sitting 12th in the table.

Matters deteriorated further under the Portuguese coach, who admitted in January 2025 that his team might be the worst in the club's history, with United suffering 18 league defeats that season, their highest tally since being relegated in 1973-74.

The Red Devils also failed to win consecutive league games throughout the campaign for the first time in the club's history before ending the season with defeat to Spurs in the Europa League final, leaving them without European football the following term.

United bounced back to finish third under Carrick in 2025-26, but their return to the bottom three just nine games into the current campaign has made that 15th-placed finish look rather less like a low point.

Chelsea: 14th (1993-94)

Chelsea's worst Premier League finish came in 1993-94, when they ended the 42-game season in 14th place with 51 points from 13 wins, 12 draws and 17 defeats.

Glenn Hoddle's arrival as player-manager had raised hopes after previous bosses had struggled to take the club beyond mid-table, but the league campaign never really gathered momentum.

The season included an 11-game winless run, while a 4-1 defeat at Leeds United proved their heaviest loss of the campaign.

There was some consolation in the cups, with Gavin Peacock scoring twice in the semi-final victory over Luton Town to send Chelsea into their first FA Cup final in 24 years.

Man United ran out 4-0 winners in the final, with Eric Cantona scoring twice, but their status as league champions meant they were heading for the Champions League, leaving Chelsea to take the Cup Winners' Cup place as runners-up.

The campaign proved to be the beginning of a rebuild that would eventually bring Ruud Gullit to Stamford Bridge.

Arsenal: 12th (1994-95)

Arsenal entered the 1994-95 campaign as a club accustomed to winning trophies, having claimed the league title in 1991, both domestic cups in 1993 and the Cup Winners' Cup in 1994, yet they finished 12th, their lowest league placing since 1976.

The season began poorly, with the Gunners scoring in just one of their opening five league games, and they never managed to escape mid-table, eventually finishing on 51 points in a 42-game campaign, just six clear of the relegation zone.

George Graham was sacked on February 21, 1995, after it emerged that he had accepted a £425,000 payment from agent Rune Hauge, and he was subsequently banned from football for a year by the FA.

Assistant Stewart Houston stepped in and won his first two games, but his arrival coincided with a run of six defeats in seven matches that left Arsenal in real danger of relegation.

The threat was greater than usual because four clubs were going down that season as the Premier League prepared to reduce from 22 teams to 20.

Arsenal at least had Ian Wright's 18 league goals and a run to the Cup Winners' Cup final to take some encouragement from, but Nayim's remarkable lob from more than 40 yards over David Seaman in the closing seconds of extra time handed Real Zaragoza the trophy.

Liverpool: Eighth (1993-94, 2011-12 and 2015-16)

Liverpool are the only traditional top-six side never to have finished below eighth in the Premier League era, although they have ended the campaign in that position on three occasions.

The first came in 1993-94, when Graeme Souness resigned in January following a home FA Cup defeat to Bristol City, leaving bootroom stalwart Roy Evans to take charge.

That campaign marked Robbie Fowler's breakthrough season and the final year of the Kop as a standing terrace, but it also saw Liverpool suffer 16 league defeats, their highest tally in a Premier League season.

In 2011-12, Kenny Dalglish's side collected 52 points, their lowest total since 1954, in a campaign overshadowed by Luis Suarez's eight-match ban for racially abusing Patrice Evra and lengthy injury absences for Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard.

The Merseyside Reds did lift the League Cup, beating Cardiff City on penalties to end a six-year trophy drought, but won only four of their next 11 league games and lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea, a run of results that ultimately cost Dalglish his job.

The third eighth-placed finish came in 2015-16, when Brendan Rodgers was sacked in October with Liverpool sitting 10th, before Jurgen Klopp took over four days later and guided the Reds to two finals, only to lose both against Man City on penalties and Sevilla.