Aston Villa have failed to score in the opening three rounds of the Premier League for a second successive season after being held to a goalless draw by Hull City on Saturday.
The result leaves Aston Villa 17th in the table with one point and a goal difference of 0:5. Their latest failure to find the net has also placed them alongside an unwanted piece of English top-flight history.
Opta says Aston Villa are only the second team to go through the first three matches of two consecutive seasons without scoring. The previous club to suffer the same fate was Ipswich, who recorded the barren starts in the 1969/70 and 1970/71 campaigns.
Aston Villa’s 0-0 draw at Hull City means they have again begun a Premier League season without a goal across their first three fixtures. Their current record is particularly stark: one point gained and five goals conceded, with no goals scored.
The latest result will have disappointed the club’s supporters, although it also provided a clean sheet away from home. Despite that, Aston Villa remain in the lower reaches of the early Premier League table and have yet to register a victory in the opening three rounds.
The club endured an identical attacking start last season, when they also failed to score in any of their first three Premier League matches. That sequence ultimately proved to be an early setback rather than a reflection of how the campaign would develop.
Aston Villa recovered strongly in 2024/25, finishing fourth in the Premier League and securing qualification for the Champions League. Their ability to turn around last season’s difficult opening will offer some encouragement, even though the current campaign has begun in similar fashion.
The historical comparison with Ipswich, highlighted by Opta, underlines the rarity of Aston Villa’s position. Before this season, only Ipswich had failed to score in the opening three rounds in two successive seasons in the history of England’s top division.
For now, Aston Villa must concentrate on ending their scoring drought and improving their position. The stalemate with Hull City extended their run without a Premier League goal through the opening three rounds, while the single point from those matches leaves them 17th.
Last season’s fourth-place finish and subsequent Champions League qualification show that an unproductive start does not necessarily determine the final outcome. However, Aston Villa have now been linked with a record that dates back more than five decades, making their slow beginning one of the most notable early developments of the Premier League season.