Premier League sack race odds: Every 2023/24 manager ranked from most to least likely to go
The 2023/24 Premier League campaign is about to get underway and we’ve already had our first managerial casualty.
While we are used to clubs changing managers over the summer, with Mauricio Pochettino, Ange Postecoglou and Andoni Iraola taking over at Chelsea, Tottenham and Bournemouth respectively, these alterations are often made early on in the window.
When a manager leaves with a just a few days to go until the start of a season, you know something has gone wrong. It may not officially count as the first sacking of the season as it came a few days before but Julen Lopetegui’s reign at Wolves is over after under a year. The Spaniard took charge of Wolves last November when they looked among the favourites to be relegated and led them to a 13th-placed finish, seven points clear of the drop zone, securing wins over Liverpool and Tottenham.
But Lopetegui’s job was first put into doubt towards the end of the campaign amid uncertainty surrounding Wolves’ financial situation, with the Spaniard saying: “We will see, we have to discuss with the chairman and owners.The most important thing is what the solution is going to be. When you have a problem you have to solve the problem.
“This is all. About my future, I have a contract and we will see what is going to happen, This is football, we don’t know.”
Well, Lopetegui has now left, with Wolves citing a difference of opinions as they now look for a new manager — Gary O’Neil is the favourite to take over.
“Lopetegui joined Wolves in November and successfully guided the club to Premier League safety, however, the head coach and club acknowledged and accepted their differences of opinion on certain issues and agreed that an amicable end to his contract was the best solution for all parties,” a statement on the club’s website read.
“Talks have been ongoing in recent weeks, held with the utmost respect and cordiality, affording the club time and space to begin work on finding a successor, while also ensuring that Julen and his backroom staff could continue their planned preparation to ensure the playing squad would be in the best possible condition for the start of the Premier League season.”
Find the latest Premier League manager sack race odds* for the 2023/24 season here, with the favourites to leave their positions next:
Next Premier League manager to go odds from Sky Bet
| Manager | Odds from Sky Bet |
| David Moyes | 4/1 |
| Paul Heckingbottom | 9/2 |
| Steve Cooper | 11/2 |
| Ange Postecoglou | 8/1 |
| Rob Edwards | 9/1 |
| Sean Dyche | 9/1 |
| Andoni Iraola | 12/1 |
| Marco Silva | 12/1 |
| Roy Hodgson | 16/1 |
| Jurgen Klopp | 28/1 |
| Mauricio Pochettino | 28/1 |
Odds correct at the time of writing. 18+ Only. UK only. Terms and Conditions Apply. BeGambleAware.
Next Premier League manager to go: Who are the favourites?
David Moyes
David Moyes will have been many people’s favourite to be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season and he may still be the first to go once the campaign officially gets underway. Despite leading the Hammers to Europa Conference League glory last season, subsequently qualifying for the Europa League group stage, Moyes has been subject to the dissatisfaction of West Ham fans particularly due to their low finish in the Premier League. West Ham have a tough start to the new campaign and a poor run could see Moyes shown the door, especially with the Scot reportedly unhappy with the lack of backing in the transfer window — especially given the Hammers have money to spend following the sale of Declan Rice.
Paul Heckingbottom
After leading Sheffield United back into the Premier League, Paul Heckingbottom now has the task of keeping the Blades in the top flight. They are currently second favourites to go down after Luton but it feels as though Heckingbottom will be trusted, unless things get really disastrous. However, the odds suggest otherwise with Heckingbottom also second favourite to be next out.
Steve Cooper
There were various points last season where Steve Cooper was odds-on favourite to be sacked by Nottingham Forest but the club’s hierarchy constantly backed their manager, even signing him to a new contract. But how long will that last if Forest have an underwhelming season in 2023/24?
Ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou hasn’t had the smoothest of starts to life as Tottenham manager, having to deal with uncertainty surrounding Harry Kane’s future while trying to build his squad. But the former Celtic boss has laid some interesting foundations at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and could work well, with or without Kane.
Rob Edwards
The unknown quantity of the Premier League managers this season, Rob Edwards did a fantastic job in leading Luton to the top flight but many have backed the Hatters to go straight back down. The season could go a few ways for Luton even if they do get relegated, either pulling the trigger on Edwards at a low point, or keeping trust in him to get them out of trouble.
Sean Dyche
Another manager appointed last season with the view to keeping a club up, Sean Dyche didn’t secure Everton’s safety until the final day of the Premier League campaign, but it was a job done. The Toffees finished two points clear of the relegation zone thanks to a final-day win over Bournemouth and will be hoping for a less stressful campaign this time around. But Everton feel like a tough team to predict this season, not really adding the quality their squad needed with Arnaut Danjuma joining on loan from Villarreal and Ashley Young signing on a free transfer. Nevertheless, as long as things don’t start badly, Dyche looks fairly secure for now.
Andoni Iraola
One of the new faces in the Premier League this season, Andoni Iraola replaced Gary O’Neil at Bournemouth after the Englishman’s work in saving the Cherries was deemed not enough to secure him the permanent job. Iraola has spent the past three years in charge of Rayo Vallecano, leading them to La Liga and the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey for just the second them in their history. Bournemouth will be an interesting side to watch this season and you’ll be able to get a clearer view of what Iraola can do after watching the first few matches. Keep an eye on this one.
Marco Silva
On their return to the Premier League last season, Marco Silva’s Fulham secured a top-half finish looking pretty comfortable despite losing more games than they won. This year it will be about building on that, ensuring Fulham turn into Premier League regulars once more, rather than a yo-yo club. However, Silva’s future has been in doubt this summer, not down to anything bad, due to Saudi Arabia’s obsession with scooping up every player and manager known to mankind. Silva has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia and while he is staying put for now, there is a feeling that he could be swayed at some point.
Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson was only meant to be in charge of Crystal Palace on an interim basis until the end of the 2022/23 campaign, replacing Patrick Vieira after the Frenchman was sacked with the Eagles struggling. But Hodgson did such a good job coming out of retirement to secure an 11th-placed finish for Palace that the club offered him a new contract. However, Palace haven’t had the best of transfer windows this summer with Wilfried Zaha among a number of players to leave and only Jefferson Lerma added. It looks like it could be a difficult campaign, which will make Hodgson’s future an interesting conversation.
Jurgen Klopp
Some thought last season would have brought the end of Jurgen Klopp’s time at Liverpool. It was his seventh season, usually when he leaves a club, and the Reds were struggling at times — it would have been a decent time for Klopp and Liverpool to part ways amicable and move on. But Klopp stayed, led Liverpool to Europa League qualification and after a summer of trying to rebuild the midfield, the German looks pretty secure in his job once more.
Mauricio Pochettino
In their first season in charge at Chelsea, Todd Boehly and co went through four different managers, showing things hadn’t really changed at the club after their takeover. Thomas Tuchel was sacked and replaced by Graham Potter, who was also sacked and replaced by Frank Lampard, via a one-game interim spell for Bruno. The Blues finally got the man they had been chasing for some time in the summer with Mauricio Pochettino returning to London. Overseeing a squad overhaul, Pochettino has a task on his hands to lift Chelsea up the table but surely they can’t be worse than last season. Anything positive and it feels Pochettino will be safe, with a project in mind.
Eddie Howe
After securing Champions League football for Newcastle in his first full season in charge of the club, it feels as though Eddie Howe is one of the most secure mangers in the Premier League season. Howe is building something at St James’ Park and has the backing of the owners, only really restricted by FFP rules. It will be interesting to see how Howe copes with European football alongside everything else but you feel that he’s safe even if Newcastle endure a tough campaign.
Vincent Kompany
Vincent Kompany will be an interesting one this season. Moving over to English football as a manager for the first time last season, Kompany had Burnley playing brilliant football as they won the Championship to seal a return to the Premier League. The Burnley some Premier League fans will remember appears to be no more and they even started preparations for the top flight early, with a 10-day camp before another break preceding the proper pre-season. Kompany will have a decision to make in whether he completely keeps Burnley’s style against Premier League sides where the Clarets are a smaller fish in a big pond, compared to their standing in the Championship. That decision could make or break the season.
Roberto De Zerbi
Roberto De Zerbi was one of the managers of the season in 2022/23, replacing Graham Potter at Brighton when the Englishman moved to Chelsea. Although Potter had done a good job to lay the foundations, De Zerbi seemed to take Brighton to another level, making them one of the hardest teams to beat on their day. The Seagulls finished sixth in the Premier League last season, qualifying for the Europa League group stage, their first ever participation in European football. Like Frank, De Zerbi has already been linked with a move to other Premier League clubs but you feel he has his sights set on lifting Brighton even further up the table. It will be interesting to see how he gets on, juggling Europa League football with everything else.
Thomas Frank
After leading Brentford to promotion two years ago, Thomas Frank has been slowly lifting Brentford up the Premier League with a 13th-placed finish in his first campaign and ninth last season. Winning 15 of their 38 games, Brentford were only two points off qualifying for Europe which would have been an amazing feat, and Frank’s role in that was recognised as he had been linked with leaving the Bees at various points for so-called “bigger” clubs. Right now, Frank feels safe but he could be a manager that leaves for another club, as Graham Potter did last season.
Unai Emery
When Unai Emery took charge of Aston Villa last season, replacing Steven Gerrard, they looked in danger. The Villans were only above the relegation zone on goal difference and needed a stark change if they were to remain in the Premier League. What Emery did though was amazing, turning Aston Villa from a relegation-threatened side to European football qualifiers, entering the Europa Conference League play-off round via their seventh-placed finish. In fact, they were just one point off the Europa League group stage, and it’s hard to see them not building on that this season.
Erik ten Hag
Erik ten Hag’s tenure at Old Trafford didn’t get off to a good start but by the end of his first season Manchester United were back in the Champions League and had won their trophy in quite some time. Patience was required and it feels like Ten Hag will be given time to achieve what he needs to at Man Utd, trying to build a squad to challenge for the title. Only a disastrous season would see Ten Hag leave Man Utd and it feels like they are far from that, so the Dutchman should be in one of the safest seats.
Mikel Arteta
Mikel Arteta probably has one of the safest positions in the Premier League right now after guiding Arsenal to a second-placed finish last season. Sure, there will have been disappointment as they failed to win the title despite leading the table for most of the campaign, but it was never the goal at the start of the campaign. Securing Champions League football was the main aim, and Arteta did exactly that. You feel that even if Arsenal don’t challenge for the title this season, as long as they finish in the top four, Arteta will be fine.
Pep Guardiola
After winning the Treble last season, there may not be a more secure position in the Premier League than Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The Catalan tactician will be looking to lead Man City to a historic fourth-consecutive league title and is once again being backed massively in the transfer window. Guardiola will only leave Man City when he wants to, and it doesn’t feel like we’re at that time just yet.
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