Five Premier League players struggling to find last season’s form | OneFootball

The opening weeks of the Premier League season have seen several stars struggle to repeat previous exploits.

Out of form, we’ve looked at five Premier League players who have failed to find last season’s form across the opening weeks of the 2025/26 campaign.

Five Premier League players struggling to find last season’s form

Ollie Watkins – Aston Villa

Aston Villa have disappointed as a collective so far this season, with Unai Emery’s side 13th in the table as we head into October’s international break. Goals have been an issue for The Villans, who failed to find the net in their opening four games. Back-to-back wins have lifted the mood, though there are few in Claret and Blue performing as impressively as last season.

Among them is Ollie Watkins, who has scored just once in seven Premier League appearances. Watkins has recorded 56 goals and assists over the last two Premier League seasons, but has had just a solitary goal involvement in a slow start to the 2025/26 season.

He’s retained his place in the England squad this month, but knows performances – and output – must improve.

Antonee Robinson – Fulham

No defender in the Premier League provided more assists than Antonee Robinson last season, with the American recording 10 assists. Across the entire Premier League, only three players – Mohamed Salah, Jacob Murphy and Antony Elanga – created more goals than Robinson, but he’s been oddly overlooked during the first games of the new season.

Robinson underwent knee surgery in the summer but was fit enough to return to first-team action in August. Since then, however, he has yet to start a Premier League game and has totalled just 61 minutes across three substitute appearances.

Mohamed Salah – Liverpool

For a mere mortal, a return of four goal involvements in seven Premier League games might appear a solid return. Mohamed Salah, however, has been no normal player in recent seasons.

Even given an expected dip from last season’s record-breaking feats, Salah’s stuttering start has caused concern at Liverpool. The Egyptian’s numbers for shots, key passes, dribbles, and fouls won have dropped dramatically, with Liverpool’s talisman far from his best.

Changes in personnel around him have perhaps impacted Salah’s start, but there will be some concerned that this may be the start of a decline for a player who turned 33 in the summer.

Ibrahima Konate – Liverpool

Another important part of Liverpool’s title success last season, Ibrahima Konate, has looked a shadow of his former self this season. Just one player has made more errors leading to a shot than the Frenchman, while his distribution has been criticised, with Liverpool lacking ideas in their build-up.

A commanding presence last term, Konate has looked shaky in the season’s opening weeks. Could an expiring contract and speculation over an exit be contributing factors?

Chris Wood – Nottingham Forest

Chris Wood fired Nottingham Forest to European qualification last season, scoring 20 league goals in the best Premier League campaign of his career. He started off the current campaign in a similar fashion with an opening-weekend double against Brentford, but the fortunes of Wood and Forest have since dipped.

Wood has failed to score since the opening weekend, blanking in six straight games, while Forest have failed to win in that time. Under pressure from new signing Igor Jesus, who has impressed in cup competition, Wood needs to rediscover his goal-scoring touch.

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