38 wins. 0 draws. 0 losses. That is the meaning of 38-0. It is the perfect Premier League season — a campaign in which a team wins every single one of its 38 matches. No team in the history of English football has ever come close. This is the story of why 38 became the number, why 0 became the dream, and why we named our game after the impossible.
Since the 1995-96 season, the English Premier League has consisted of 20 teams. Each team plays every other team twice — once at home, once away — for a total of 38 matches per season. This format has remained unchanged for nearly three decades, making 38 the defining number of the modern English game.
Before 1995, the league had 22 teams and 42 matches per season. The reduction to 20 teams was part of the Premier League's restructuring after its breakaway from the Football League in 1992. The 38-game season was designed to reduce fixture congestion, improve quality, and create a more balanced competition. It also made every match more meaningful — with fewer games, each result carries more weight in the final table.
The "0" in 38-0 is actually two zeros combined: zero draws and zero losses. In a league where even the greatest teams draw 5-8 matches per season, achieving zero draws is almost as remarkable as zero losses.
To put this in perspective: in the 2023-24 Premier League season, champions Manchester City lost 3 matches and drew 7. Arsenal, in second place, lost 5 and drew 5. Even at the very top of the game, a season without a single draw or loss is considered mathematically possible but practically impossible.
No. No team has ever won all 38 matches in a Premier League season. In fact, no team in any major European league has ever won every single match in a modern 34-38 game season.
The closest any team has come is Arsenal's Invincibles in the 2003-04 Premier League season. Arsenal went the entire campaign unbeaten — 26 wins, 12 draws, 0 losses — finishing with 90 points. It was an extraordinary achievement, but they still drew 12 matches. Their record was 26-12-0, not 38-0-0.
In the broader history of English football, Preston North End went unbeaten in the inaugural Football League season of 1888-89 (18 wins, 4 draws, 0 losses in a 22-game season). That was the original "Invincibles" — but even they drew four matches.
Winning 38 consecutive Premier League matches requires overcoming a combination of challenges that make it arguably the hardest achievement in team sport:
Several teams have come tantalisingly close to perfection, each falling short in their own way:
26 wins, 12 draws, 0 losses. The only unbeaten Premier League season. Arsenal's achievement is monumental, but 12 draws meant they finished with 90 points — not the maximum 114 that 38-0 would yield.
32 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses. 100 points — a Premier League record. Pep Guardiola's side was the most dominant English team of the modern era, but they still lost twice and drew four times.
29 wins, 8 draws, 1 loss. Jose Mourinho's first season brought 95 points and just one defeat — a 1-0 loss to Manchester City in October. They conceded only 15 goals all season, but 8 draws kept them from perfection.
32 wins, 3 draws, 3 losses. 99 points. Liverpool won their first league title in 30 years with breathtaking football, but three defeats — including one to Manchester City — ended any hopes of a perfect season.
A perfect 38-0-0 season would yield 114 points — 3 points for each of 38 wins. The current Premier League record is 100 points (Manchester City, 2017-18). That means 38-0 would shatter the points record by 14 points, a gap larger than the difference between 1st and 5th place in most seasons.
Statistically, if a team has a 90% chance of winning each match (an extraordinarily high assumption), the probability of winning all 38 is 0.9 to the power of 38 — approximately 1.8%. With a more realistic 75% win probability per match, the probability drops to 0.00005% — roughly one in two million.
When we designed 38-0 Football, we wanted a name that captured the ultimate ambition of every football fan: not just winning, but perfect winning. The Premier League season is 38 matches. The dream is zero defeats. The impossible is zero draws. 38-0 is the shorthand for that dream.
Our game lets you chase that dream. You spin for legendary Premier League clubs, draft their greatest players, build your formation, and then simulate a full 38-match season. Will your XI be strong enough to go where no real team has gone before? Can you achieve the perfect 38-0-0?
The name is also a nod to the famous football scoreline obsession — fans don't just want to win, they want to know the exact record. 38-0-0 tells you everything: played 38, won 38, drawn 0, lost 0. It is the scoreboard of perfection.
The number 38 has become synonymous with the Premier League era. When fans talk about a "full season," they mean 38 games. When pundits debate a manager's record, they calculate over 38-game cycles. The number is so embedded in English football consciousness that it has become shorthand for the league itself.
The "0" represents the holy grail — the zero that has never been achieved. In an era where Manchester City can win 100 points and Liverpool can win 97 and still finish second, the gap between excellence and perfection has never been more visible. 38-0 stands for that gap.
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