The pre-season title favourites slipped seven points behind rivals Manchester United as they went down 1-0 at Sunderland, while their neighbours produced another thrilling comeback win to beat Newcastle 4-3. As a result, Mancini has been cut to 9/2 second favourite from 8/1 to be the next top-flight boss to lose his job behind Reading manager Brian McDermott, who is 7/4 favourite.
Martin O'Neill had been one of the front runners in this market a few weeks ago but the Black Cats' revival means he's now out to 40/1. Aston Villa suffered another heavy defeat on Boxing Day - this time losing 4-0 at home to Spurs following the weekend's 8-0 mauling at Chelsea - and now Paul Lambert can be backed at 6/1 in the sack race. Sky Bet Football Trader Chris Spicer said:
"While the City hierarchy haven't previously proven to be trigger-happy, they've looked well short of the side that won the title last season and are finally being found out.
"With their Champions League campaign ending in misery, the Premier League is surely a must with such a talented squad at Mancini's disposal, so we deem him to be under genuine pressure now."
Manchester United's victory has seen them come in to 4/11 to regain the title, while Man City are 7/2 and Chelsea are 7/1 from 12/1 after grinding out a 1-0 victory at Norwich. At the other end of the table, the Black Cats drifted out to 8/1 for relegation following their shock win over City, while QPR are now 2/5 after losing at home to West Brom.
Source: team_talk
