Premier League sack race: Five managers in danger of the axe

Another fascinating round of Premier League action saw some managers pick up much-needed wins and others plunge themselves into deeper trouble.

Gary O'Neil's Bournemouth moved off the foot of the table courtesy of a shock 1-0 victory over Liverpool, with Antonio Conte also seeing Tottenham pick up three points on their own patch.

But David Moyes, Patrick Vieira and Brendan Rodgers all failed to mastermind a home win.

We take a look at the five tacticians most likely to lose their jobs before the end of the season.

David Moyes (West Ham)

A tough season at West Ham continued when they were held to a 1-1 draw against Aston Villa on Sunday.

The Hammers only sit above the relegation zone on goal difference and despite a promising 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest last month, they have since been knocked out of the FA Cup and thumped 4-0 at Brighton.

That inconsistency is a frustration for Moyes and may ultimately result in London Stadium chiefs deciding to dispense with the Scot.

After the draw with the Villans, the Scot said: "At the moment, I have to say we’re a bit flaky and I have to make sure that that’s not there.

"This season we have shown bits of that, which I don’t like."

Antonio Conte (Tottenham)

Conte looked close to the exit door at Tottenham when his team were dumped out of the Champions League by AC Milan last week.

A number of off-field issues have complicated the Italian's tenure this term, with the FA Cup exit at Sheffield United further complicating matters for the North Londoners.

But a 3-1 home win over Forest on Saturday calmed the storm at Spurs and Conte is seemingly happy to now continue the fight, if only until the end of the season.

The ex-Chelsea and Inter Milan boss, 53, said: "I see the right spirit and desire to get the three points.

"In my players, I have seen the fire in their eyes.

"For us to finish in the top four is like winning the Premier League. It happened last season and I spoke about a miracle."

Patrick Vieira (Crystal Palace)

Palace have been awful in the final third this term.

In Saturday's 1-0 home defeat to City, they became the first team on record (since 2003-04) to fail to have a single shot on target in three consecutive Premier League matches.

Palace remain winless in their 10 league outings in 2023 (five draws, five defeats) and are now only three points from the drop.

An angry Vieira said after the loss to City: "It’s happened too many times when I’ve mentioned we should have got something from the game. I’m really frustrated.

"We want to play in a better way, to create more chances and score goals, but the process is taking time."

Brendan Rodgers (Leicester)

Saturday's 3-1 home loss to Chelsea was Leicester's 16th defeat of the season — the joint-worst record in the division with Southampton — and the first time Rodgers has suffered as many in a single league season.

And although only Claudio Ranieri has a better win percentage (44%) than Rodgers (43%) in his 150 top-flight games in charge of the Foxes, the 50-year-old's time in the East Midlands looks to be almost up.

A disappointing summer of transfer activity was followed by a poor start to the season and despite an upturn before the World Cup, four defeats on the bounce have resulted in fans turning against the 16th-placed outfit.

After the latest setback, Rodgers said: "The chanting doesn’t affect me. My focus is on the team and I will give my very best while I’m here.

"The supporters are clearly disappointed. You want the crowd to be behind the team but this how it has been since the summer.

"One thing we have shown is that we can fight and have resilience and that’s what is going to be needed in these next 12 games."

Gary O'Neil (Bournemouth)

Bournemouth's 9-0 loss at Liverpool last August resulted in former boss Scott Parker receiving the boot, with O'Neil installed as caretaker.

O'Neil earned the position on a permanent basis following 13 points from 11 games and although there was a drop-off in results after the World Cup, a 1-0 win in the reverse fixture against the Reds has given the Cherries renewed hope of beating the drop.

They are now level with West Ham in the table but O'Neil still has his work cut out.

He said: "The performances in the last three games have been very good against top opposition.

"Fine margins can’t always go against you like they had been. We have to just keep going. I know the boys still believe."