Premier League Sack Race: Lopetegui 9/2 favourite but don't rule out Dyche or Klopp

• 9/25.50 Lopetegui fav amid Wolves unrest rumours

• 6/17.00 for axe to fall first on Blades boss

• 80/181.00 Guardiola is longest price in top flight

Julen Lopetegui rescued Wolves from a relegation fight when he took over last November but he is the favourite on Betfair to be the first manager to leave in 2023/24.

The Spaniard is 9/25.50 to win the sack race and leave the Molineux club looking for a replacement, following reports that he is concerned that he will not have the resources to strengthen his squad this summer.

Paul Heckingbottom 6/17.00 comes next in the betting. He got Sheffield United promoted from the Championship last season, but will they stick by him if the Blades struggle early in the campaign?

Steve Cooper 15/28.50 managed to keep Nottingham Forest in the top flight last season but he is in contention for an early exit.

Hodgson under no illusions

The sack race is rarely predictable and it could pay to look down the market from the top three for a candidate at a bigger price.

Roy Hodgson 9/110.00 was an unexpected hit at Crystal Palace when he returned to Crystal Palace last season. But the ex-England boss has been in the game long enough to know that fortunes can change quickly.

Fulham enjoyed an excellent first season back but Marco Silva 9/110.00 must build on that progress if he's to avoid the chop.

Dyche must do better

How will Andoni Iraola 10/111.00 perform in his first job in Premier League management? Bournemouth have taken a risk by sacking Gary O'Neill, who kept them up last season, to bring in the Spaniard.

Rob Edwards 10/111.00 worked wonders to get Luton promoted via the play-offs. But it will not be easy for them and he will have to hope his club doesn't hit the panic button if they find life difficult back in the big time for the first time in 21 years.

Sean Dyche 12/113.00 is an interesting one. The Everton manager achieved the minimum requirement of keeping them in the Premier League but he took over in January and it should not be forgotten that they were 45 minutes from going down.

Poch and Postecoglou to get time?

It will be fascinating to see how Mauricio Pochettino 25/126.00 does at Chelsea, back in Premier League for the first time since 2019.

The Blues need to do much better in 2023/24, after finishing 12th last season, and have put their faith in a man who has not worked for a year.

He will be refreshed and fired up but will that be enough? Chelsea play Liverpool at home in their first match of the season, so there will be no easy initiation for Pochettino.

Across London, at Pochettino's old club, Ange Postecoglou takes his first job in the Premier League at Tottenham.

He is 33/134.00 to win the sack race, and Daniel Levy knows it could take time for the Australian to lift the team from the slump of last season, but the Spurs' chairman's patience won't be inexhaustible. Just ask Nuno Espirito Santo who took over two years ago and was gone by November.

Klopp and Ten Hag take nothing for granted

There are some big names that would be a surprise to leave at any point this season, let alone first.

Jurgen Klopp is 25/126.00 and, while he is rightly loved at Liverpool for his achievements there, they are another team that must do better after a disappointing 2022/23.

Liverpool fans will accept one disappointing campaign under Klopp, but they may run out of patience if the Reds are inconsistent again.

Erik ten Hag 33/134.00 had Manchester United moving in the right direction in his first season in charge. But so did previous Red Devils managers before the second campaign saw the rot set in.

Mikel Arteta 50/151.00 stepped up to the managerial major league when his Arsenal side challenged for the Premier League title and will look to go one better this season.

He'll need to overcome his old boss Pep Guaridola 80/181.00 who, after Manchester City won the treble, is the longest price of any manager in the Premier League to be the first to leave their club.

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