The pressure on Premier League managers under threat of dismissal has ramped up following a weekend of chastening results across the division, with Manchester United's Michael Carrick among those seeing his position come under sharper scrutiny.
According to the latest betting odds on the next Premier League manager to lose their job, Alvaro Arbeloa remains the frontrunner at 5/2 despite Fulham holding out for a hard-fought draw at Anfield against Liverpool on Saturday, a result that could easily have yielded all three points for the visitors.
The bigger movement, however, came further down the list. Frank Lampard has jumped to second favourite at 10/3, cut sharply from 14/1, after his Coventry side suffered a humiliating 5-0 home defeat to Brighton. The afternoon was made worse by Taiwo Awoniyi's dismissal early in the second half. The loss leaves Coventry bottom of the table without a single point from their opening four matches, reigniting doubts about Lampard's record as a top-flight manager, which has been shaky in previous Premier League spells.
Carrick, meanwhile, has seen his odds tumble from 17/2 to 11/2 following a controversial home defeat to Manchester City in the derby. City, reduced to ten men after Phil Foden's first-half red card, still found a way to win courtesy of an Erling Haaland goal. That strike, though, has since become the centre of major controversy, with Enzo Fernandez appearing to interfere with play from an offside position in the buildup. The refereeing body Pro Ref has since issued a formal apology to Manchester United over the officiating error, but the result stands, leaving United to absorb a damaging defeat against local rivals.
Carrick now sits just ahead of Roberto De Zerbi, who occupies fourth spot in the betting at 6/1 after a difficult start at Tottenham, where his side remain without a win or a goal so far this season.
Elsewhere in the standings, Oliver Glasner (11/1), Unai Emery and David Moyes (both 12/1), and Gary O'Neil (also 12/1) round out the names considered most at risk in the coming weeks. Further down the list, longer odds are offered on the likes of Pierre Sage and Regis Le Bris (22/1 each), Daniel Farke and Matthias Jaissle (25/1), and Marco Rose alongside Sergej Jakirovic (28/1).
At the opposite end of the spectrum, Enzo Maresca and Andoni Iraola are both priced at 40/1, while Keith Andrews, Fabian Hurzeler and Xabi Alonso are considered even safer bets at 50/1. Mikel Arteta, at 80/1, is seen as one of the least likely managers to depart his post this season — the same odds currently on offer for the possibility that no manager is sacked in the Premier League at all this campaign.
With the season still in its early stages, the pressure on those occupying the lower reaches of the table is only likely to intensify. Carrick will be hoping to arrest United's slide quickly, particularly given the contentious nature of the derby defeat, while Lampard faces an increasingly uphill task to keep Coventry competitive at the foot of the division.
All odds cited are courtesy of Betfair and remain subject to change as the season progresses.
Based on reporting from Standard Football.