Frank de Boer Crystal Palace Premier League 08192017

Betting: Bilic and De Boer have bookies confused over sack race favourite

Three games into the Premier League campaign and there are two names dominating the market affectionately known as the "Sack Race".

Despite plenty of big name arrivals West Ham have failed to pick up a top flight point so far, suffering a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United and perhaps more worryingly, a 3-0 reverse at the hands of Newcastle either side of their 3-2 loss at Southampton.

Slaven Bilic's men have yet to play at the Olympic Stadium due to the venue needing several weeks of work doing to it after hosting the IAAF World Championships earlier this summer.

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Slaven Bilic West HamGetty

The question seems to be, will the 48-year-old get the opportunity to manage his team in front of their home crowd at all this term? He's 6/4 (2.50) with Paddy Power to be the first Premier League manager to leave his post, but is well odds on in some places.

The same firm believe it's actually another boss with three defeats to his name who is most likely to leave. Frank de Boer had plenty of success at Ajax, a tempestuous few months at Inter Milan and is now 8/13 (1.62) to depart Crystal Palace and become the first managerial casualty of the 2017/18 campaign.

Home defeats to both Huddersfield Town and Swansea City mean the Eagles are losing ground on teams expected to struggle against relegation. The south London club are now 7/4 (2.75) for the drop having so far failed to score in three games including their 1-0 loss at Anfield.

GFX STATS PL SACK RACE

That's certainly an alarming start for a team that hit 50 league goals last season, the highest tally of any side in the bottom half. While an adjustment period under a new manager is expected, the odds compilers believe De Boer is a prime candidate to see his tenure cut short.

Palace face Burnley and Southampton after the international break and back-to-back trips to Manchester before the end of September, so things are unlikely to get much easier for the 47-year-old.

Arsene Wenger is 9/1 (10.0) in the sack race market but it seems unlikely that the Arsenal boss would walk out in the middle of campaign having signed a new two-year contract just months ago, even with two defeats in their first three matches.

Rafael Benitez was a frontrunner at the start of the season but has been eased to 12/1 (13.0) after Newcastle picked up their first victory back in the top flight.

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