While everyone’s excited about the start of the new Premier League season, that feeling will quickly fade for a few top-flight bosses. It doesn’t take long for the pressure to grow, even without fans turning on their boss in the stands.
Ahead of the new season, we’ve looked at the latest Premier League sack race betting odds. There are already a few managers who look under pressure before a ball is kicked, but are there any value picks in the field? See our predictions for the first top-flight boss to leave their post below.
Premier League Sack Race Odds
Odds correct as of 12pm on September 12th with Betfair
- David Moyes (West Ham) – 4/1
- Roy Hodgson (Crystal Palace) – 5/1
- Steve Bruce (Newcastle) – 9/1
- Scott Parker (Fulham) – 10/1
- Dean Smith (Aston Villa) – 10/1
Premier League Sack Race Predictions and contenders
The Favourite: David Moyes (West Ham)
With West Ham fans already turning on their board, it’s not a surprise to see David Moyes feature this high in the sack race betting odds. The Hammers fans have never really taken to the former Sunderland boss in either of his reigns, while there are serious issues ahead for the club.
West Ham have Arsenal, Wolves, Leicester, Tottenham, Man City and Liverpool to play by Halloween. With that tricky fixture list ahead, a lack of transfer business and the unhappiness with Moyes, it’s no surprise that Moyes is the favourite. However, for us he’s just a tad short at 4/1.
Itchy Trigger Finger: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
Frank Lampard is both one of the league’s most inexperienced managers and arguably facing the biggest pressure. A £200million summer splurge is exciting, but the downside is that an owner wants to see a return. That counts double if that owner is Roman Abramovich.
Only Jose Mourinho has ever lasted a full-season at Chelsea after failing to win silverware the year before. The Russian’s Chelsea reign has seen 12 managers arrive and depart before Lampard took up the hotseat.
A sacking at Stamford Bridge is never usually far off, outside of Mourinho only Antonio Conte has reached his second anniversary at Cobham, which was largely down to a legal dispute. While Lampard is likely to make it to the end of the season, a poor campaign after their transfer spend could cost him. At 16/1 with Betfair, some will be tempted to back against the Blues’ boss.
Our Selection: Scott Parker (Fulham)
While he’s just been handed a new contract, our pick for this market is Scott Parker. The former England midfielder has a reputation as one of the nicest people in the game, but he’s got a difficult job at Craven Cottage.
The playoff winners are heavily backed for the drop, while Parker has already come under huge pressure. Fulham fans weren’t entirely happy with Parker throughout last season, with that only subsiding with their (mostly) successful run in the playoffs. They still nearly blew their playoff semi-final lead against Cardiff, only adding to concerns for Parker.
To make matter worse, there’s been little change to the Fulham side which struggled so badly at the start of the 2018/19 Premier League season. While their big transfer spend that season was criticised, their moves so far this window haven’t gone far enough given that they didn’t look like a complete side in the second tier just months ago.
Of course, the managerial novice only picked up this role after Fulham fired two managers in six months during their first top-flight spell. They were ruthless with their bosses when relegation looked likely, so we think the pressure that’s already on Parker could see him depart early this season.
With Parker priced out at 10/1 to be the first manager to leave his post, we think that represents good value given that the Cottagers are likely to struggle from the start.
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