Southampton fans haven’t had much to applaud so far this season (Picture: Reuters)
Attention returns to the Premier League on Saturday after an unusuallyfascinating mid-season international break.
Lee Carsley’s audition for the England vacancy had fans fixated on the matches against the Republic of Ireland and Finland and the common consensus seems to be that the position is his to lose.
The bookmakers agree and Carsley, who was 2/1 this time last week before being shortened to 7/4 following the comfortable victory in Dublin, is now no bigger than 1/2 ON with Betfred after seeing off the Finns.
If the race for the England manager’s job is all over bar the shouting, how about the one to see which top-flight boss will be the first to part company with his club this season?
We’re only three matches into the 38-game campaign but the leading contenders are beginning to emerge. It will come as no surprise to anyone that Erik ten Hag is the favourite to go first, with Manchester United having taken just three points from nine with a 1-0 home win against Fulham followed by the 2-1 defeat at Brighton and the 4-0 humiliation against Liverpool.
The former Ajax boss takes his side to Southampton on Saturday and the pressure will only intensify if they fail beat opponents who have failed to register a point in three games under manager Russell Martin.
The only other team to have lost their first three – and managed to make a worse start than Saints – are Everton, whose shocking 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth after being 2-0 up with just a couple of minutes remaining has surely left the usually bombproof Sean Dyche in an uncomfortable position.
The Toffees have a tough assignment at Aston Villa on Saturday while Wolves manager Gary O’Neil will be eager to gain a first victory at home to Newcastle on Sunday before next weekend’s derby at Villa Park.
Erik Ten Hag has a great chance to ease the pressure on his job(Picture: Getty Images)
But Martin is the best bet to be next to go. His side could be just the tonic United need to quell the flames lapping around Ten Hag’s hot seat and with matches at home to Ipswich and away to Bournemouth on the immediate schedule, the Southampton board could take action if they don’t gain a healthy return from those outings. As short as 6/1 with Bet Victor, Martin looks a big price at 14/1 with Paddy Power and Betfair to be the first to get the chop.
• Miami Dolphins wide receiver Tyreek Hill is at the centre of a national controversy after being dragged out of his car by police over a minor traffic incident before Sunday’s 20-17 opening-day success against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hill still logged 130 yards and a touchdown from seven receptions and he’s 13/2 with Sky Bet to impress a huge armchair audience in the United States by posting the first TD in the NFL’s Thursday night game against visiting AFC East rivals Buffalo.
He’s also a safe bet at 17/20 with William Hill to score a touchdown at any time against a Bills defense which looked decidedly dodgy in the 34-28 home win against the unfancied Arizona Cardinals on Sunday.
• Sunderland top the Championship with 12 points from four matches and they have only conceded once, an injury-time own goal at Portsmouth, while scoring ten.
They are this week’s banker at 5/6 with Ladbrokes and Coral to win at Wayne Rooney’s struggling Plymouth while QPR, Stockport and Barrow complete Saturday’s Football League acca.
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