The Analyst: Who are the most inconsistent team in the Premier League?

Paul Okey
7 February 2022

Gabriel Jesus Bernardo Silva Man City Dec21

Manchester City are surely the most consistent, but which team just cannot be relied upon for a result of any kind?

Consistency is what wins you titles we are told, and that certainly looks to be the case with Manchester City. The Citizens consistently beat whoever was put in front of them between October 30 and January 22 to open up a gap at the top of the Premier League that already looks insurmountable.

Their incredible run of victories, 12 in all, is twice the length of the next longest winning sequence in the Premier League this season, with Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool having recorded six on the bounce. Third-placed Chelsea, meanwhile, have only managed four back-to-back victories.

But while winning consistently is the mark of a title-winning team, does it therefore follow that the team with the longest run of back-to-back defeats will be bottom? And are the teams in 10th and 11th the most inconsistent? Planet Sport looks at the stats.

Manchester City don't do win, lose, draw

Manchester City not only boast the longest winning run in the Premier League, they are the only team who haven't drawn or lost any games back-to-back.

They are also one of only two teams in the top flight who haven't recorded the most inconsistent of three-match runs: a win, loss and draw (in any order). The only other team not to have done it are Norwich, in 17th.

City's nearest challengers (nearest in the loosest sense of the word) Chelsea and Liverpool have also got to February without suffering back-to-back losses, with the only other team not to experience two defeats on the spin being Brighton.

Losing streaks don't necessarily mean bottom three

At the other end of the table, not surprisingly, all of the bottom three teams have failed to win back-to-back games this term, though Newcastle have a chance to buck that trend when they face Everton on Tuesday evening.

Surprisingly, newly promoted Brentford, in 14th, are the only other team yet to taste back-to-back victories, with Norwich, despite hovering dangerously above the drop zone, having done it twice.

The Canaries, though, have twice embarked on six-game losing streaks, the longest run in the division. Watford endured a six-game losing run under Claudio Ranieri, while a run of fives losses prompted Aston Villa to part with Dean Smith.

Interestingly, while fifth-placed West Ham have only lost eight games, they have suffered back-to-back defeats three times.

The most inconsistent teams are the teams in mid-table

As for a model of inconsistency, you have to look at Leicester City in tenth. The Foxes' longest run of wins is two, draws is two and losses is two. Consistently inconsistent you might say. And three times they have recorded a win, draw and loss within a three-game sequence, the second most in the league.

Just below them, Crystal Palace and Brentford both have four runs which feature a win, draw and loss but the Bees have twice embarked on four-game losing runs, while Palace drew four games in a row in September and October.

So, by virtue of the randomness of Leicester's results, you'd have to say they take the prize for the Premier League's most inconsistent team.