Premier League news: Daniel Farke, Thomas Frank and the managers leading the 2025/26 sack race
Saturday’s Premier League fixture list was the most intriguing one of the season so far on paper, and it certainly turned out that way.
A chaotic Saturday then fed straight into a cracking contest between Chelsea and Arsenal on Sunday, which wrapped up a weekend that looked prime for a manager’s sacking.
Daniel Farke was probably toast if Leeds United went to the Etihad and were hit for five or more, while Arne Slot would have struggled to explain away a 10th defeat in 13 had West Ham upset Liverpool.
The seasonal pressure is also ramping up, with there just four more fixture lists until the Christmas Day table reveals who is going down. Spoiler: It might be Wolves.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer George Dempsey breaks down the latest odds in the Premier League sack race.
Daniel Farke is the favourite to be sacked
It’s no surprise that Daniel Farke is now the firm favourite to be sacked at 1/2.
Four consecutive defeats will do that, and upcoming meetings with Chelsea and Liverpool might not help.
Leeds’ American owners spent all summer talking up their ambition, even if a budget to match never joined the conversation.
Dropping into the relegation zone, averaging 0.84 points per game, was not part of the plan.
Farke spent the past fortnight clinging to two lines of defence, insisting one point per game was fine and pointing out Leeds have avoided the bottom three.
Neither argument survived this weekend.
His inability to change a game has been evident to Leeds fans for years – it cost the Whites at least a point against Aston Villa last weekend, and now the PPG average could dip to 0.73 as they clash with Chelsea and Liverpool this week.
What really shredded the last morsel of patience, in a strange way, was the Etihad.
Farke trotted out a 3-5-2 for the second half, but only after 45 minutes of damage. That, and the fact it was weeks late.
The switch sparked a comeback from 2-0 down and produced a pressing display against an elite passing side that made previous defeats look avoidable.
His post-match claim that you “can’t” play that way against a side like Villa then aged quickly as Wolves did exactly that the following afternoon and frustrated them for nearly 70 minutes.
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Should Thomas Frank be sacked or are Tottenham fans entitled?
Ange Postecoglou’s tenure was a mess, and there are a lot of pieces to pick up.
Tottenham finished just above the relegation zone last season and now they’re midtable and competing in Europe, so what’s the issue?
Three straight defeats across competitions, a collapse in early league position, and a habit of starting matches like they’ve hit the snooze button, mostly.
The first-half numbers are moreover brutal.
Spurs haven’t scored before the interval in four league games and have managed just one first-half shot on target in that stretch.
The nature of the slow starts seems to be getting exponentially worse too.
There must be an underlying tactical issue, but the lack of motivation from Premier League players is stark – Fulham led 2-0 after six minutes because the players just weren’t switched on at all.
Frank hasn’t helped himself either.
Calling the booing of Guglielmo Vicario “unacceptable” handed supporters all the ammunition they needed.
And if giving the supporters a stick to beat you with wasn’t bad enough, there were more public displays of player dissatisfaction as full-time arguments resulted in Pedro Porro storming down the tunnel.
Spurs fans aren’t entitled for wanting more than slow starts, home defeats, and open warfare with the stands, but Frank isn’t quite on Farke-level borrowed time either – at least not yet.
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The transfer market could lead to a rift between Marco Silva and Fulham
Marco Silva’s situation is a unique one because back-to-back wins against Sunderland and Tottenham are not something a team in turmoil would do.
He’s only 11/1 for the sack.
Despite his comments about how happy he and the club are with each other last week, though, it has been rumoured that the two are growing apart.
He’s done a fantastic job by keeping Fulham competitive at the highest level since promotion in 2021, but it's clear they need to take that next step to avoid being dragged into this year’s dogfight.
The biggest factor in his pricing is Silva himself, with the Portuguese making it clear that he wants Fulham to do more in the transfer window.
There have, however, been rumours that they may not be able to match his ambition.
Speaking to Sky Sports just last week, Silva said: “Let’s see what we can do in the market because it will be important to act in the window.
“As I mentioned, we are preparing in the present. We have been speaking every single day. Myself, with the CEO of the club, it is clear.
“It is not just because of last summer. We have some injuries that create different scenarios and AFCON – we are going to lose three players.”
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Scott Parker being sacked is inevitable, but when?
There’s a sense of inevitability about Scott Parker’s future.
It’s difficult to hammer him for what he’s produced with Burnley’s resources, because they simply can’t compete financially with the clubs around them.
Like Silva, Parker is 11/1 to go next.
Despite that, it’s unlikely the Clarets will spend much (if any) time out of the bottom three between now and the end of the season.
At some stage, the board will reach for the button, even if only as a late-season gamble to see whether a different voice can jolt some life into the squad.
While lopsided away results are the most glaring concern, the underlying numbers show they’ve already scored a lot more than they’re creating.
The Clarets ultimately profile as a team that could go down in 20th, although Wolves being historically bad might prevent that.
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Would Liverpool be silly to sack Arne Slot?
On the one hand, Slot delivered a Premier League title in his first season and then lost three pillars of his squad in Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luis Díaz, and the late Diogo Jota.
Jürgen Klopp’s first season in charge resulted in an eighth-place finish on the back of a tough spell for Liverpool, so perhaps one turbulent season is a small price to pay if they still believe in Slot’s potential.
On the other hand, last season facilitated a soft shift from Klopp’s team and similar tactics to Arne Slot’s team and tactics, which have now seen them lose nine of 13.
A much-needed win, inspired by Alexander Isak, cooled the temperature, but the pressure hasn’t disappeared.
Sunderland at Anfield and a trip to Elland Road won’t be easy, yet both are winnable.
He’s third favourite in the sack race at 8/1, and if the Black Cats can get something at Anfield, it could, ironically, be Daniel Farke who ends Arne Slot’s reign this weekend.
MORE FROM GEORGE DEMPSEY: Premier League betting: A review of pre-season tips - Liverpool, Leeds Utd and more
