Who have the bookies picked out as the most likely candidate to be sacked first in the Premier League?
Eleven managers left mid-season last year, and nine more have walked since May - Guardiola's City exit and the Maresca-for-Alonso swap at Chelsea the headline moves of a chaotic summer.
With five of the 20 current bosses only appointed in the last few months, the pressure to deliver from day one has never been higher. So who's most likely to be the first name axed once the season gets going? Here's where the betting markets stand.
There were some big results after GW1 with Aston Villa getting hammered 4-0 by Brighton, Man United losing to Hull, Ipswich beating Sunderland, and Brentford smashing Tottenham 3-0.
It has no doubt moved the next manager sacked market - here is how it looks.
Next Premier League Manager to be Sacked Odds
Michael Carrick has overtaken Hulls boss, Sergej Jakirovic, at the top of the betting with his odds being cut from as long as 33/1 into 7/1 favourite.
Jakirovic now sits as second favourite at 8/1 best price after leading the Tigers to a shocking 2-0 win at home to Man United.
De Zerbi is another manager that suffered a tough weekend, losing 3-0 to Brentford. His odds were cut from as long as 14/1 into a current best price of 17/2.
Arbeloa (17/2), Oliver Glasner (9/1), Gary O'Neil (10/1) are all floating around the top of the market.
Unai Emery has been cut from 33/1 into a best price of 12/1 after his 4-0 defeat at the hands of Brighton.
Who is Favourite to be Sacked First in the Premier League?
Michael Carrick has gone from a 33/1 outsider to the 7/1 favourite to be the first Premier League manager sacked, and the dramatic market move is understandable after Manchester United’s nightmare start at Hull. A 2-0 defeat to a side widely tipped for relegation was bad enough, but the manner of the performance will be the bigger concern, with United offering little going forward and conceding twice from set-pieces. Carrick insists there will be no overreaction, yet his side appeared to be making the same mistakes that undermined them last season, while Bruno Fernandes openly admitted the players need to be more aggressive and improve their pressing. One defeat should not define a manager’s tenure, but when the market cuts a price from 33/1 into 7/1 after just one game, it suggests Carrick is already under serious scrutiny.
Premier League Next Manager Sacked Betting
Punters have been busy in the past week, and the Oddschecker data tells a slightly different story to the headline odds, bettors are piling onto names further down the market rather than backing the favourites.
| Manager | Club | Share of Bets |
|---|---|---|
| Unai Emery | Aston Villa | 52% |
| Enzo Maresca | Chelsea | 22% |
| Michael Carrick | Man United | 14% |
| David Moyes | Everton | 3.4% |
| Pierre Sage | Crystal Palace | 3.4% |
| Fabian Hurzeler | Brighton | 2% |
Over half the bets in the last 24 hours are backing Unai Emery to be the first manager sacked in the Premier League.
Unai Emery has suddenly found himself in the conversation for the first Premier League manager to leave his post after Aston Villa’s disastrous 4-0 defeat at Brighton. The scoreline was damaging enough, but Ollie Watkins’ unexplained absence amid Al Hilal interest adds another layer of uncertainty, with Emery repeatedly refusing to shed light on the situation and telling reporters to “ask him”. Villa were torn apart in the first half and had Joao Gomes sent off, leaving Emery with plenty of problems to solve both on and off the pitch.
