Slaven Bilic became the fourth Premiership manager to lose his job this season following his team’s 4-1 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool last time out. There are bound to be plenty more casualties between now and the end of the season and several managers will be looking nervously over their shoulders. Here are four Premiership bosses that could really do with a win this weekend:
Tony Pulis
The West Brom boss is now the 2/1 joint favourite at Bet Victor along with Watford’s Marco Silva to be the next Premiership manager to leave his post. Silva is being linked with a move away from Vicarage Road thanks to his excellent record this season, which has teams clamouring for his signature, but Pulis is being tipped to move on for altogether different reasons. West Brom have not won a game since August and a run of three straight defeats before the international break has left them hovering just one point above the relegation zone. Pulis has previously done a great job with West Brom, but his employer’s patience may be wearing thin. West Brom host champions Chelsea this weekend and are likely to be in for a torrid afternoon, hence massive odds of 6/1 with Black Type and 11/2 with Bet Victor, and fans of value betting might fancy them to pull off an upset. After all, Crystal Palace secured a home win against Chelsea when they needed it the most, and the Blues have also lost to Burnley this weekend, so you never know.
Paul Clement
Clement could be in even graver danger than Pulis and looks a really good option at 6/1 with Bet Victor to be the next Premiership manager to leave his post. His Swansea side are second bottom, with seven defeats in 11 games, and the other two teams in the relegation zone have already sacked their managers. Swansea fired two bosses last season before Clement guided them to safety, so they have previous to pulling the trigger in this department, and Clement must be skating on thin ice. Swansea have only scored seven times all season and Clement’s tactics are pretty conservative, so he may need to show more ambition if the Swans are to gain a crucial victory away at Burnley this weekend. Turf Moor is not quite the fortress it was last season, but Burnley have been very strong this season and are flying high in seventh place – level on points with Liverpool and Arsenal – after winning their last two games. Swansea are on a five-game losing streak and are huge outsiders in this game, but the 16/5 on offer at green-listed bookmakers such as 888 Sport may tempt some.
Antonio Conte
Chelsea have been inconsistent this season and are already nine points behind runaway league leaders Man City. Conte has risked the ire of Roman Abramovic with his outburst and his position at Chelsea is thought to be under huge threat, so he has been made 16/1 fifth favourite with Betway and Sky Bet to be the next Premiership manager to go. Chelsea secured a hugely impressive victory over Man Utd last time out, but now they need to display consistency by seeing off struggling West Brom, who will aim to thwart them at every turn. Conte needs the win as badly as Pulis does, so it is set to be a pulsating clash on Saturday and you have to say Chelsea look good value at 8/13 with Sky Bet as they are the vastly better team on paper and have been hugely boosted by the return of N’Golo Kante.
Mark Hughes
The Stoke boss is 16/1 with Bet Victor to be the next manager given the chop. Stoke were in real danger after defeat at Bournemouth left them in the relegation zone, but a hual of four points from games against Watford and Leicester has given Hughes a bit of breathing room. However, he will be right back under the cosh if his team lose away at Brighton on Monday night. The Seagulls are in fine form and are eighth in the table, so they will present stern opposition for Stoke. However, the Potters have made a habit of winning against the odds this season and look great value at 12/5 with Black Type and 11/5 with Ladbrokes to win this one.
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