The Premier League Sack Race represented a calm and tranquil place between August and October, only for Slavisa Jokanovic to burst the bubble in mid-November when he became the first top-flight managerial casualty of the season after Fulham sent him packing.
In came Claudio Ranieri, before a brace of exits occurred the following month, as Ralph Hassenhuttl replaced the axed Mark Hughes at Southampton, while this week Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was handed the Man Utd job on an interim basis after Jose Mourinho was booted out of the Old Trafford exit door.
The sacking season may have been late to arrive this term, but it’s now well and truly underway, with a number of other top-flight gaffers feeling the heat as we venture into the festive season.
The manager in the most danger of the axe is Leicester City's manager Claude Puel who can currently be backed at 6/4 in the betting with Bet Victor. The under-fire Foxes head coach is without a win in four games in all competitions, failing to win any of his last three Premier League games, meaning his side have slid down to 12th spot.
The Frenchman, formerly of Southampton, was heavily criticised for fielding an under-strength team at home to Man City in the quarter-finals of the League Cup, a game which Leicester went on to lose on penalties. Few will be backing the Midlands club to bounce back at Chelsea this weekend.
Sean Dyche is next in the running for the sack at 8/1. While it would come as a huge shock if his contract was torn to shreds, results haven’t gone Burnley’s way this season, with the Clarets scraping only three wins from 17 league matches, a rotten return which means they are currently stuck in the drop zone, and are in big trouble having lost seven of their last nine games.
Just behind Dyche in the betting is Roy Hodgson. Like his fellow countryman, Hodgson enjoyed a fine 2017/18 campaign, propelling Crystal Palace clear of the dreaded drop to a hugely creditable 11th place finish. This season hasn’t quite gone to plan, although a win over Leicester should give him a bit of breathing space, for now.
Elsewhere, Neil Warnock and David Wagner can be backed at 12/1 and 14/1 respectively, while Ranieri is already a 14/1 shot to be sacked, despite only bagging the Fulham job last month. Newcastle's Rafa Benitez is the same price, with Nuno Santo priced at 16/1.