The new Premier League season is a month away and although we have a gamut of pre-season fixtures plus a host of transfer window twists and turns to go, the bookies have already been hard at work calculating their odds for the 2025/26 campaign.
One of the most popular markets is the sack race – predicting which Premier League manager will be first to get the boot once the new season is underway.
Often, newly promoted clubs pull the trigger quickly if they struggle to get to grips with the top flight, but sometimes the first manager to go will be an established boss who has led his side to an underwhelming start. Here, as per talkSPORT Bet, are the favourites for the next manager to go…
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1. Daniel Farke (Premier League sack race odds 7/2)
A year after suffering defeat in the play-off final, Daniel Farke led Leeds United to the Championship title, breaching the 100-point mark in the process. The German couldn’t really do any more than he did last season, but he immediately finds himself top of the sack race list.
So what gives? It is Farke’s previous Premier League record which has seen him win just six of 49 Premier League games he’s managed during his time at Norwich City that has added to speculation that his position could soon be under threat if Leeds don’t start well.
Chairman Paraag Marathe moved to back his manager in the immediate aftermath of promotion and Farke will be hoping that he gets the transfer market backing that was absent during his time at Carrow Road this time out.
2. Keith Andrews (4/1)
Thomas Frank’s seven-year stint in the Brentford dugout came to a close when the Dane took the Tottenham job, with former MK Dons and Blackburn Rovers midfielder Keith Andrews the surprise replacement.
Andrews was promoted from the position as Bees set-piece coach and has no prior managerial experience, with this gamble reflected by the former Ireland international’s position near the top of this list. But Brentford will point to the fact that Frank was an internal promotion himself and that appointment didn’t turn out too bad.
Perhaps more of a pressing issue is the sales of key players and doubts over Bryan Mbeumo’s future at the club amid interest from Manchester United.
3. Regis Le Bris (5/1)
Frenchman Regis Le Bris enjoyed a remarkable first season at Sunderland, with his achievement of getting the Black Cats promoted without the financial advantage of Premier League parachute payments something that should not be underestimated.
And while Sunderland have been busy in the transfer market so far this summer, this is a side that finished 16th in the Championship 12 months ago and will therefore have a significant gap to bridge this season if they are to steer clear of the relegation dogfight.
4. Scott Parker (6/1)
Scott Parker’s inclusion here means that all three newly promoted managers are in the top four places in the bookies’ list to be sacked first.
Given that the last six promoted teams have all gone straight back down, it is clear that the oddsmakers expect this year’s batch of newbies to struggle again, but Parker will be hoping that his Burnley side’s water-tight defence can be the bedrock for a successful season in the top flight.
5. Nuno Espirito Santo, Vitor Pereira (12/1)
It’s over to the Midlands for the joint-fifth favourites to win the sack race and two sides that had contrasting seasons in 2024-25.
Nuno Espirito Santo led Nottingham Forest into Europe for the first in a generation when his side finished seventh in the table, but with an owner who is not afraid to make himself heard in Evangelos Marinakis and the extra demands that a Europa League campaign will put on the squad, the Portuguese will face new challenges this season.
His compatriot Vitor Pereira will face different challenges at Wolves, notably how to replace Manchester United-bound Matheus Cunha, as the Molineux side hope that they can build on what was an excellent end to the season under the much-travelled former Porto and Fenerbahce boss.
