Premier League Sack Race Power Rankings: Who’s Safe and Who’s Skating on Thin Ice? (20–11)

The run-in is upon us and the dugouts are getting twitchy. Chairs aren’t just swivel — they’re spinning. Some managers can plan their summer already; others are one bad week from a cardboard box. Let’s cut through the noise and stack the Premier League bosses by who’s least likely to cop the bullet right now.

How we’re judging the sack risk

Form trends, injuries and depth, the mood music in the boardroom, and the eternal media glare all matter. From 20 to 11, here’s who should sleep easy and who needs results now. If you’re tracking how the market reacts to momentum swings, the best betting sites will tell you plenty.

20) Mikel Arteta — Arsenal

Last season: 2nd. Arsenal have been bridesmaids again, but don’t mistake that for fragility. Despite long layoffs for Bukayo Saka and Kai Havertz, Arteta’s side surged into 2026 on top. Declan Rice has looked every inch a future captain and the Champions League semi-final run — ended by eventual winners PSG — showed real European steel. They’ve wobbled with a few dropped points since New Year, yet they still look favourites to finish the job in May. Safe as houses.

19) Régis Le Bris — Sunderland

Last season: Promoted. Sunderland rolled the dice on Le Bris and came up sevens. No prior English experience, still fairly new to senior management — and yet he’s stitched together a smart, adaptable side, leaning into youth with Chris Rigg and Jobe Bellingham while handing the armband to the wily Granit Xhaka. Among the promoted trio, the Black Cats look the most streetwise, perched in mid-table and a long way from trouble. He won’t be going anywhere.

18) Pep Guardiola — Manchester City

Last season: 3rd. City’s slide after Rodri’s ACL tear broke a four-year title stranglehold, and there were whispers Pep might walk. Instead, he inked a deal through 2027 and kicked off a refresh. With Hugo Viana installed upstairs and recruits like Tijani Reijnders, Rayan Cherki and Rayan Aït-Nouri bedding in, City are back snarling — in the Carabao Cup final and chasing Arsenal hard. There’s noise about a possible endgame in England, but sacking? Not a chance.

17) Keith Andrews — Brentford

Last season: 10th. Following Thomas Frank was always a poisoned chalice, doubly so after losing Bryan Mbeumo to Manchester United and Christian Nørgaard to Arsenal. Andrews, promoted from set-piece guru to main man, has taken it in stride. Signature scalps — Liverpool (3-2), Manchester United (3-1), and a home-and-away job on Newcastle — have Brentford sniffing Europe. The Bees punch up, and the board won’t blink while that continues.

16) Michael Carrick — Manchester United

Last season: 15th. United needed a steady hand after the Ruben Amorim experiment fizzled. Carrick agreed to guide the ship on interim terms, fully aware a summer reset looms. Freed from cup clutter, his sample is lean — just 17 league games — but the early returns are tidy: a four-game burst that topped Amorim’s best streak, a draw at West Ham, then a tidy win over Everton. The Stretford End loves one of its own; no axe incoming while the form holds, and he’s right in the frame for the permanent gig.

15) Unai Emery — Aston Villa

Last season: 6th. Emery rebuilt his English reputation at Villa, adding European nights and unleashing Ollie Watkins with Morgan Rogers buzzing off him. The Champions League schedule stretched a thin group, and missing the top five on the final day stung. After briefly flirting with a title chase, 2026 has bit back — FA Cup exit to Newcastle and bruising league defeats to Arsenal, Everton, Brentford and even bottom Wolves. This is now a management test: halt the slide and re-plant Villa in the top four fight. Still safe, but the cushion’s thinner.

14) Liam Rosenior — Chelsea

Last season: 4th. Enzo Maresca’s New Year exit followed a dip and boardroom friction. In came Liam Rosenior on a six-and-a-half-year deal after shining at Strasbourg, but this is a leap to the big stage. The early signs? Mixed. A rousing comeback and a dismantling of Crystal Palace showed upside, but wasteful draws with Leeds and Burnley fed a costly habit — 19 league points coughed up from winning positions this season. He’s fine for now, yet that trend must flip.

13) Marco Silva — Fulham

Last season: 11th. Silva keeps Fulham upright and awkward despite the annual talent drain. An 11th-place finish and an FA Cup semi-final underline the craft. This time they held key pieces — Rodrigo Muniz re-upped, Antonee Robinson stayed — and dipped for Oscar Bobb in January. Fans are firmly in his corner. The only wrinkle is contractual: less than a year left means the owner, Shahid Khan, has a decision to make. Stability feels right; speculation won’t help.

12) Andoni Iraola — Bournemouth

Last season: 9th. The “why sack Gary O’Neil?” chorus looks daft in hindsight. Iraola has given Bournemouth a spiky identity, with landmark wins like a 3-0 at Old Trafford and a double over Arsenal last term. Even after losing Dean Huijsen (Real Madrid), Milos Kerkez (Liverpool), Ilya Zabarnyi (PSG) and then Antoine Semenyo to Manchester City, the Cherries rode out a grim festive patch and haven’t lost in the league since a 3-2 reverse to Arsenal in early January. If anything, the risk is a bigger fish coming calling.

11) David Moyes — Everton

Last season: 13th. Moyes returned in January 2025 to a club docked 10 points for FFP breaches and flirting with the trapdoor. Since then, the Freidkin Group has steadied the wider picture and the football’s hardened up. A 13th-place finish reset expectations; now James Tarkowski is talking Europe and Jack Grealish’s loan adds a sprinkle of stardust. The Toffees look built for a push at least to the Europa Conference League places. Unless results nosedive, Moyes is sitting comfortably.

Final word

From Arteta’s authority to Moyes’ revival, the sack race starts gently at this end of the table. But this league devours complacency. A fortnight can flip a narrative — and from here on in, every team talk carries job-security subtext.