In Focus: The bosses at risk in the Premier League sack race

The Premier League has reached its first international break and a host of under-fire managers are already feeling the heat.

Two bosses have already lost their jobs this term and with a host of other teams making underwhelming starts, club chiefs may use this time to opt for a change.

We pick out the top-flight tacticians most in danger of the sack.

Brendan Rodgers (Leicester)

An alarming start to the season for Leicester yielded just a single point from their first seven games and Brendan Rodgers looks the manager most at risk right now.

There were already concerns before the campaign kicked off after a quiet summer of transfer window activity which also saw influential stars Wesley Fofana and Kasper Schmeichel depart.

The Northern Irishman has guided the Foxes to the brink of Champions League qualification previously, work which regularly saw him linked with a top six job.

But the East Midlands side currently look to be in freefall, with a 6-2 defeat to Tottenham at the weekend exposing their frailties at the back.

With reports that the club’s hierarchy are already drawing up replacements for the 49-year-old, it seems as though the credit he has earned during his three-and-a-half-year tenure may be fast running out.

Bruno Lage (Wolves)

Wolves missed out on a European place in 2021-22 after only two wins in their final 12 games and just a solitary success during the new campaign places them down in 17th place.

A 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday has now seen Bruno Lage emerge as one of the favourites for the boot.

The men from Molineux regularly prove a difficult team for most to face but continue to be plagued by their struggles in front of goal.

Despite what can be considered a favourable fixture list prior to the City clash, no side has scored fewer than their three so far this term.

It remains to be seen whether the Portuguese boss will be given more time to arrest the slide.

David Moyes (West Ham)

David Moyes has worked wonders in bringing European football to the London Stadium during the last two seasons but it may have masked a troubling run of domestic form.

A dismal 1-0 defeat to Everton on Sunday means the Hammers have earned just nine points from their last 42 available and currently sit 17th.

The Glaswegian boss, 59, has struggled to integrate his summer signings this campaign, while his trusted starters are also failing to produce.

After the defeat at Goodison Park, Moyes said: "We weren't very good.

"Today we found out little bits [about the new signings], but it was mainly the players I know about — they are the ones who let me down with poor play overall."

Steve Cooper (Nottingham Forest)

Steve Cooper’s sacking as Nottingham Forest manager is another that would seem harsh given it is only four months since he restored their Premier League status after 23 years away.

Especially when you consider that he is yet to reach a year in the job and has had the task of gelling 22 new signings into his side.

But the Premier League is a cut-throat business and a record of five defeats in seven games has already led to doubts over the Welsh manager’s future.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis has sacked five Forest bosses in less than five years at the City Ground but this would undoubtedly prove the most controversial if he did decide to pull the trigger.

Steven Gerrard (Aston Villa)

A much-needed 1-0 win over Southampton last Friday — following on from a spirited draw with Manchester City — has eased some of the pressure on Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard.

But only seven points from their first seven games is still not the start the ambitious Villans owners had in mind after heavy recruitment in the last two transfer windows.

The legendary Liverpool midfielder had been criticised for stubbornness in his tactical set-up but admitted after the Saints win that he may have tried to make them too expansive too quickly since his appointment last November.

The 42-year-old said: "Sometimes you have to stop and think and analyse. Sometimes it takes maybe a step back or a bit more patience to get where you want to. 

"If it means we have to do that, we will do it. Where we have been in the league is not where we want to be."

That back-to-basics approach has served Gerrard well in the last two and that shift in mentality may have bought him more time in the Villa Park hotseat.