First PL Manager to Leave Their Post Tip: Manuel Pellegrini

There appear to be two outstanding candidates to choose from when selecting which manager will depart their post first in the new Premier League season.

New Watford boss Quique Flores (6/1 Skybet) will do well to see the clocks change if recent events at Vicarage Road are anything to go by. The former Atletico Madrid man became the club’s fifth coach in 12 months which is particularly extraordinary when you consider this period saw promotion achieved.

However, it’s always a risk taking a brand new manager to be first out and the price is perhaps a little too short with that in mind. Furthermore, there is evidence to suggest that the Pozzo family may not be quite as ruthless as the numbers suggest.

Beppe Sannino resigned last August amid speculation he was unpopular with the players before Oscar Garcia stepped down for health reasons. Arguably, the board had little to do with either of these departures.

Billy McKinlay was only seen as an interim option before Slavisa Jokanovic saw the Hornets up. He took over in October and his short-term contract wasn’t renewed after negotiations went sour. Don’t get me wrong, the Watford hierarchy are tough, but even they will be aware how another quick departure will look.

With that in mind, a better bet should be Manuel Pellegrini, available at a best price of 10/1 with Coral. The Manchester City manager looked like a dead man walking through most of spring but somehow lived to fight another day.

But we shouldn’t be under any illusions. The former Malaga coach needs to be challenging for the title from the off to keep his position. A 4-1 pre-season defeat to Real Madrid doesn’t bode particularly well for those aspirations.

And when you consider City’s early season fixtures, it’s not hard to see where things could go wrong. The big spenders’ first three away games are all banana skins - West Brom, Everton and Palace could all make Manuel sweat while champions Chelsea are the first visitors to the Etihad.

Two or three poor results could leave the Chilean doomed and at a double figure price we should take our chance in this lively market.