Who will be the first Premier League manager to be sacked in 2024-25? GOAL make their predictions with Erik ten Hag and Enzo Maresca on thin ice

Mark Doyle: Erik ten Hag is still under scrutiny after overseeing Manchester United’s worst-ever Premier League campaign, but INEOS have clearly decided that the Dutchman deserves more time to prove himself. It would be a surprise, then, to see Sir Jim Ratcliffe hit the panic button during the early stages of the season. Todd Boehly, though?... Chelsea sacked Thomas Tuchel just six games into the 2022-23 Premier League campaign - and he was a Champions League winner. Therefore, it would not come as a shock to see the shams at Stamford Bridge ditch new manager Enzo Maresca if Chelsea start the season poorly.

Amee Ruszkai: Back in December, Nuno Espirito Santo's tenure at Nottingham Forest started well, with wins over Newcastle and Manchester United within 10 days of his appointment - but only Luton Town and Sheffield United lost more matches from that point on. It was an unconvincing end to the season and I don't think the summer business at the City Ground has been good enough to get them off to a strong start for this coming campaign. This will force the club to make a change - something it has become accustomed to doing through six permanent managers in six years.

Richard Martin: Chelsea has never been a safe place for managers, and under Todd Boehly's ownership it has resembled a bullring. So Godspeed Enzo Maresca, the fifth coach to take the poisoned chalice in the last two years. The Italian has got off to an inauspicious start in pre-season, suffering heavy defeats against Celtic and Manchester City while displaying some particularly shoddy defending. Maresca is committed to playing the ball out from the back and the Blues appear a long way from mastering his style of play, making them highly vulnerable to high-pressing opponents. Chelsea fans are often quick to get on the back of an unproven manager when they do not make a strong start, and things could get ugly quickly, particularly with them playing Maresca's former employers City in his first game.

Matt O'Connor-Simpson: Erik ten Hag seems to have been kept around as a useful idiot, a sacrificial lamb to be offered to the braying media once it becomes clear that one summer is not enough time to fix the most dysfunctional football club in Europe. It’s quite remarkable the Dutchman was retained in the summer, considering all of the damning statistics that populated social media for most of the 2023-24 campaign. If he can’t fix the midfield soup, tighten up the defence and get a centre-forward scoring, Ten Hag will soon be freed to “go win somewhere else,” as he alluded to in the wake of last season’s FA Cup final.

Stephen Darwin: It's been a rocky pre-season to say the least for Chelsea and their new manager Enzo Maresca, where the performances and results in the United States have been well below-par. Cole Palmer's return to the team will make a difference, but the issues appear far more deep-rooted - which is incredible really, given the cash that's been spent since Todd Boehly took over. The American doesn't need an excuse to pull the trigger when it comes to firing managers, and you can't help but fear for Maresca already.

Tom Maston: Last season, the first manager to be sacked was Sheffield United's Paul Heckingbottom, and I expect history to repeat itself in 2024-25 as a newly-promoted club who wear red and white stripes hit the panic button after a poor start to the campaign. Russell Martin may have guided Southampton to victory in the play-offs, but the Saints' squad should have been much closer to automatic promotion from the Championship, and though he was handed a new contract over the summer, the step up to the top-flight is likely to be too big for the former MK Dons and Swansea boss.

James Westwood: He may have just been handed a new contract at Manchester United, but that does not mean Erik ten Hag's job is safe after the club's worst-ever Premier League campaign. United were rotten to watch and far too easy to play against because of Ten Hag's tactical ineptitude and stubborn refusal to acknowledge an unacceptable drop in collective standards. United will give up plenty more points in a daunting seven-game run at the start of 2024-25, forcing INEOS into an embarrassing U-turn.

Joe Strange: Chelsea are on their fourth permanent manager since Todd Boehly and Co. took charge two years ago, and nothing suggests the hire-and-fire policy at Stamford Bridge is about to change any time soon. Enzo Maresca is the latest man in the dugout, but after some awful pre-season performances, yet more questionable transfers and dressing room issues involving Enzo Fernandez, the pressure is well and truly on. If the Italian doesn’t have his new side in and around the European places, Chelsea will be looking for another new boss soon rather than later.

Krishan Davis: Many clubs showed far more patience with their managers last season as they looked to avoid shelling out on compensation fees, and that trend will probably continue this time around. I reckon that means the first sacking could be a big one: INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe clearly thought long and hard about getting rid of Erik ten Hag at the end of what had been an atrocious season for Manchester United before they won the FA Cup, and if the Red Devils don't start well I don't think the new controlling shareholders will hesitate to pull the trigger and get someone else in quickly. It wouldn't surprise me if they already have someone ready to step in.