Premier League management is a famously uncertain occupation, with each head coach only a few bad results from the sack. We’re only a handful of games into the new season, but already the pressure is building on several top-flight bosses.
The favourites to be the Premier League manager to leave their role
Oliver Glasner – Nottingham Forest (11/1)
Oliver Glasner got up and running with his first Forest win at the weekend, as the Tricky Trees secured a 2-1 success at Aston Villa. It followed draws with Liverpool and Spurs, as Forest recovered from an opening-day setback against Leeds.
Glasner has proven himself as a top manager, but the Austrian is famously unafraid to air out his unhappiness. Couple that with boldly ambitious, but occasionally combative, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and it could be a recipe for a fallout.
Roberto De Zerbi – Tottenham (6/1)
Spurs are without a win or goal scored after four Premier League games. Given a club-record spend in the summer of around £380m, and the pressure is on Roberto De Zerbi to turn results around.
“There is a word in Italian – sbloccarsi – that literally translates as if we unblock ourselves,” De Zerbi said this weekend. “[It is] a mental block because four games, no wins, no goals scored … it is tough for the players.”
Michael Carrick – Manchester United (11/2)
Manchester United had almost no option but to appoint Michael Carrick in the summer, so good was his interim reign. But has the bubble burst for Carrick? United have four points from four games after this weekend’s derby defeat to Manchester City and the scrutiny has been dialled up.
Frank Lampard – Coventry City (10/3)
Frank Lampard will be desperate to prove he’s not a coach than can shine in the second tier, but struggle once stepping up. Coventry, however, have had a nightmare return to the Premier League so far. Yet to score or claim a single point, the Sky Blues shipped five at home to Brighton this weekend.
Coventry have lost their opening four league games in a season for the first time in 107 years.
Alvaro Arbeloa – Fulham (5/2)
A spirited performance to hold former club Liverpool at Anfield has got Alvaro Arbeloa off the mark, just when it appeared the Spaniard was beginning to lose faith.
The ex-Real Madrid boss started off with three straight losses in West London, while harsh public criticism of his squad led to reports of dressing room tension. He’s still under the spotlight, but up and running at least.
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