Man Utd Odds: Solskjaer short price to leave and Pochettino favourite to take over

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is 2/1 to be the next Premier League manager to leave his job after Manchester United's Champions League campaign ended with defeat against RB Leipzig on Tuesday.

The Red Devils went to Leipzig knowing they needed just a point to reach the knock-out stages of the Champions League. The manner of the 3-2 defeat - the way they went 2-0 down inside 13 minutes and only rallied with 10 minutes remaining - will concern the Old Trafford hierarchy. On a night when United needed to be strong and composed they were weak and shambolic. It is estimated that crashing out of the Champions League at the Group stage will cost United £15m.

If United lose to Manchester City at Old Trafford on Saturday then Solskjaer could well go odds-on in the sack race betting. An emphatic loss to their neighbours - City are 1.814/5 to take all three points - could seal Solskjaer's fate and see him leaving the job after two years in charge.

That said, Solskjaer did the Premier League double over Pep Guardiola last season so United could be value.

On Saturday, amid the jubilation of United's come from behind 3-1 win at West Ham, former-Reds defender Patrice Evra warned that, if a team keeps going behind, there is something wrong. That proved to be absolutely correct in Leipzig as Solskjaer's team ran out of comebacks and out of luck.

United may need to move fast for Pochettino

Solskjaer's tenure has not been without highpoints. He made the team entertaining to watch again, nurtured the talent of Marcus Rashford and signed Bruno Fernandes. The Norwegian steered the team to last season's third place finish and, although Jose Mourinho took them one place higher in 2017/18, Solskjaer can plausibly be considered the best manager United have had since Sir Alex Ferguson.

If Solskjaer leaves he can do so with his head held high and his reputation amongst United fans intact. He is a club legend but, as manager, he's probably taken them as far as he can. They are in nothing like the disarray in which he inherited them from Mourinho and the foundations are in place for a top class manager to build.

Mauricio Pochettino is 4/9 to be United's next manager. He is the appointment the fans want and, out of work for a year since his sacking by Tottenham, will be itching to take over at a big club.

The United board may want to wait until the summer to make a change but, with Pochettino available to back at evens to be the next Real Madrid manager, they may need to act sooner to secure his services.

If Pochettino comes he's likely to want to work with a director of football so United will need to solve that long-standing conundrum.

Max Allegri comes next in the United job betting at 6/1. He won five Serie A titles with Juventus and took them to two Champions League finals. But he has never managed in the Premier League and United would prefer somebody with English top flight experience.