Which managers are in danger of getting sacked early in the Premier League season? We look at why Spurs & Manchester United are among the clubs who could make a change.
We’re only five matches into the 2026/27 Premier League season, and in a fairer and more ordered footballing society we wouldn’t already be wondering whether any of the 20 manager in the top flight are facing the sack – but we live in a reactionary world, and the pressure on several head coaches is starting to mount at some pace.
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Three EFL sides have already parted ways with their manager (Preston North End, Peterborough United and Wycombe Wanderers) and at the current rate of travel it won’t be long before they’re joined by one of the teams in the top division – so who’s in danger and who seems to be safe for the time being?
We’ve looked at every Premier League manager who’s in immediate trouble below, and assessed just how close they are to the chop heading into the extended international break.
Roberto De Zerbi – Tottenham Hotspur
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There was so much optimism in North London just a short while ago. De Zerbi kept Spurs clear of last season’s relegation zone in promising fashion and then they made a huge splash in the transfer market, spending over £400m and signing players like Mateus Fernandes, Jan Paul van Hecke and Sandro Tonali who seemed certain to improve their team. It turns out that getting Tottenham out of their extended rut isn’t as simple as throwing money around, however.
Spurs are rock bottom after five matches and only managed to score their first goal this weekend, once they were already 3-0 down at home to a sorely out-of-form Aston Villa side. Their attack looks dreadful, their midfield out of sorts, and their defence has been distinctly up and down. It’s not a recipe for a long tenure.
Thomas Frank got a fairly long leash after a similarly woeful start last season, and we imagine that De Zerbi will get a little longer to set things right – but that already looks like a monstrous uphill battle, and given how quick the board were to give Igor Tudor the axe in the spring, we doubt that De Zerbi will last more than three or four more defeats on the spin. Spurs have been awful again, and De Zerbi’s seat isn’t so much hot as sizzling.
Michael Carrick – Manchester United
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Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Fulham means that Manchester United are now enduring their joint worst start through five Premier League games – tied with the 2014/15 season – with just five points on the board. Given that they finished in the top four last season, it’s all rather worrying.
Many bookmakers currently have Carrick installed as the favourite to be the first manager sacked, which reflects both the heightened expectations at Old Trafford and the fact that he has just a two-year contract compared to De Zerbi’s five-year deal. In short, Carrick would be a lot cheaper to get rid of.
BBC Sport’s Simon Stone suggests that the United hierarchy aren’t losing patience with him just yet, however, and we suspect that last season’s achievements have earned him a long enough leash that he’ll get another month or two to sort things out before the axe falls. Carrick’s seat is getting a little toasty, but it’s likely a little cooler than De Zerbi’s. For now.
Oliver Glasner – Nottingham Forest
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Any football club with sane management would give Glasner plenty of time to work the same magic that he did at Palace. Any club with sane management wouldn’t panic about the fact that Forest, who weren’t far off relegation last season, have ‘just’ five points from five games. But this is Nottingham Forest.
For all that they’ve achieved in recent years, this is still a club run by people with their finger permanently hovering over the trigger. Managers who underperform even slightly have the life expectancy of a mayfly or a Watford head coach. The manager’s seat in the City Ground dugout has a permanent fire lit beneath it, and losing to Coventry City at home won’t put it out.
In short, if Forest limp out of the international break, then Glasner will have a problem. Two of their next three matches are against Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town. Lose those, and we could be in for another quickfire sacking. Nottingham Forest is a good place to go if you don’t like long-term projects, and Glasner will have known that he was on a persistently short leash from the moment he took the reins.
Pierre Sage – Crystal Palace
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On paper, Sage looked like a very solid appointment for Crystal Palace. His exploits with Lens in France were hugely impressive, his tactics and playing style were similar to those employed by Oliver Glasner, and there was every reason to be broadly optimistic. Early results haven’t been great, however.
Palace have just one win in five and have been anything but convincing, and Sage’s future is now the source of increasing speculation, with their home defeat to Ipswich Town representing an early nadir – although they did have to play most of the match with 10 men.
The good news for Sage is that Palace’s board haven’t tended towards reactionary decisions in the past, and although Glasner upped the expectations at Selhurst Park there’s still a sense that the top brass are realistic about where their club stands in the grand scheme of things. Good results in cup competitions should ensure the Sage stays in post until the winter, at least.
Álvaro Arbeloa – Fulham
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Arbeloa’s appointment was a bit of an eyebrow-raiser in the first place. A relatively unsuccessful spell as caretaker manager at Real Madrid represented the entirety of his senior coaching experience, and it wasn’t easy to work out how good of a decision it was to bring him in. Based on early results – not great.
Fulham are only ahead of Spurs on goal difference at the bottom of the table and remain winless – although creditable draws with Liverpool and Manchester United in their last two Premier League matches mean that Arbeloa has probably just extended his leash very slightly.
Fulham’s next three matches after the break come against the three newly-promoted sides. Pick up some points, and Arbeloa will have ensured himself a few months’ worth of grace. Come out of that run of fixtures winless, however, and Arbeloa will be in serious trouble. His seat isn’t hot just yet, but could easily be searing by the end of October.