English Premier League: Which manager will be first to go?

The Premier League is a brutal competition, with teams unwilling to risk relegation to stay loyal to a coach who isn’t getting the job done. That makes every job in the league feel like a hot seat, but for some, their jobs are at risk almost before the season starts… Let’s take a look at which managers could be the first to go! All odds provided by Oddschecker.

Eddie Howe leads the bookies odds for the first manager to leave their position, we thought we should include it, but we also feel it’s a little disingenuous as it’s more likely he leaves to take the England job than gets fired by the Newcastle hierarchy.

Forest narrowly avoided the drop last season with Nuno taking over in December following Steve Cooper’s dismissal, per BBC Sport. With the attacking talent on offer in Nottingham, Forest’s owners will be wanting to see early success to ensure the Portuguese manager doesn’t face the chopping block early.

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Nuno’s predecessor at Forest, Steve Cooper, took the Leicester City job after the Foxes lost Enzo Maresca to Chelsea. Cooper’s experience is vast, but his last stint in the Premier League ended early. Leicester are also favourites to go down this season, making this job look like a poisoned chalice.

Fulham are splashing the cash this transfer window, with Emile Smith Rowe incoming from Arsenal per SportsMole and Scott McTominay looking likely per BBC Sport. With that level of investment, Fulham will need Silva to show some improvement from last season, otherwise he could be heading for a swift exit.

Iraola is a shock inclusion on this list following an impressive season with Bournemouth, their performances led to an impressive 12th-placed finish in the 23/24 season and bookies see them as unlikely relegation candidates. Perhaps last year’s efforts have led to more pressure and expectations for the Spaniard.

Another manager whose firing would be a shock given last year’s efforts. Glasner was so impressive in 2024, Bayern Munich were rumoured to be looking to secure his services, per Sky Sports. Palace have already lost Michael Olise this window and face a battle to keep Eberechi Eze, maybe losing these talismans makes Glasner’s job so difficult he could be on the chopping block?

McKenna is highly thought of in the football world having led Ipswich to back-to-back promotions, now he faces a possibly even more difficult challenge, keeping the Tractor Boys in the Premier League. They sit as second-favourites to get relegated so they may be crying out for some experience when it comes to the crunch.

Per All Football, the average tenure of a Chelsea manager during the Abramovich era was 437 days, since the Russian sold the club to Todd Boehly and Clearlake in 2022, the club had six managers, including two interims. The life of a Chelsea manager is a short one, and with Maresca’s lack of top-level managerial, he could be next in line for a short stint in charge.

Perhaps the first manager fired will be someone unnamed like Erik ten Hag, Arne Slot or Russell Martin. Let us know who you think will be the first manager fired in the comments!

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