Manchester United drifted to 5.14/1 to finish in the Premier League's top four in 2022/23 after new manager Erik ten Hag endured a nightmare start with a 1-2 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils, who looked clueless in the first-half with no striker and Christian Eriksen operating as a false nine, were outplayed by Graham Potter's men and went in 2-0 down at the break.
A second-half rally saw United pull it back to 1-2 but the result rarely looked in doubt.
United drifted to 1.9310/11 on the Exchange to finish in the top six.
'Hell of a job'
Afterwards, Ten Hag said that he faces a "hell of a job" at Old Trafford and few would disagree. The team lost four of their last six Premier League matches last season (W1 D1) and there was a strong sense on Sunday of new campaign, same old United.
The need for reinforcements was obvious, with the dreaded Fred and Scott McTominay partnership starting in mdifield, but today it looks like United could miss out on the midfielder they've spent the summer coveting.
They also need to bolster their attack but rumours of a bid to bring in Bologna's 33-year-old Marko Arnautovic, who scored 26 times in 145 games for West Ham, will excite few fans.
The fans are behind Ten Hag and will reserve their anger for underperforming players. In the Premier League, however, managers are rarely more than three defeats from the sack.
Ten Hag is likely to get time to rebuild United but he has shortened to 20/1 to be the next top flight manager to leave.
Cristiano Ronaldo came off the bench in the second-half against Brighton. Ten Hag said he couldn't start the Portuguese who played just 45 minutes in pre-season and has spent weeks agitating for a move from United. Ronaldo is 4/9 to stay at United with Sporting Lisbon 4.03/1 the shortest price club to sign him before the window closes on 1 September.
His representatives are reported to still be looking for a club for Ronaldo, who wants to play in the Champions League this season. A year ago, he started Juventus' opening Serie A match on the bench before leaving for United the following week. He could still get his move.
On the brightside...
Opening day defeats have been a rarity for United managers in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era. But starting with a win doesn't always bode well.
In 2013, David Moyes began with a 4-0 victory. He was sacked before the season was out and United finished seventh.
Last season, United thumped Leeds 5-1 in the early August sunshine. But the campaign quickly unravelled, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was sacked in November and United were fortunate to end their season from hell in sixth.
In 2014, however, Louis van Gaal's reign began with defeat to Swansea at Old Trafford. But United improved and finished the Dutchman first season in charge in fourth. Perhaps Ten Hag can take comfort from his countryman's example.
Next up for United is a trip to Brentford on Saturday where fans will be desperate to see improvement ahead of the visit of Liverpool to Old Trafford on Monday 22 August.
Keep up to date with the rest of the market movement following the conclusion of the Premier League's opening weekend here.