Premier League: Wolves odds-on for relegation with Solskjaer fav to replace O'Neil | OneFootball

English Premier League

Gary O'Neil has been sacked by Wolves

Wolves have today sacked head coach Gary O'Neil following defeat to Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, and the Midlands outfit are now odd-on to be relegated. Mike Norman has the details...

Wolves odds-on for the drop as O'Neil departs

Wolves are 5/6 to be relegated from the Premier League this season after sacking manager Gary O'Neil on Sunday morning.

The sacking comes less than 24 hours after Wolves lost a crucial relegation six-pointer to Ipswich on Saturday afternoon, a result that left O'Neil's men 19th in the table and four points from safety following four consecutive league defeats.

It was thought that O'Neil still retained the backing of the Wolves board prior to Saturday's game with club chairman Jeff Shi saying earlier in the week that everyone was "united" behind the manager following Monday night's 2-1 defeat to West Ham.

But boos from the home fans at full time, plus some ugly scenes involving Matheus Cunha, Ryan Ait-Nouri and Ipswich staff members after the final whistle, were arguably key factors that persuaded the club's owners Fosun to react.

Tough test ahead for incoming boss

Saturday's loss was Wolves' 11th Premier League defeat this season and it comes on the back of a kind run of fixtures that saw them face Crystal Palace, Southampton, Fulham, Bournemouth, Everton, West Ham and yesterday's opponents Ipswich.

However, they won just two of those games - Wolves' only two wins all season - and now the fixture list starts to look very difficult for any incoming manager.

Wolves face Leicester on Saturday, but from Boxing Day onwards they face the likes of Aston Villa, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Man United and Tottenham, plus Premier League surprise package Nottingham Forest in a six-week spell of games.

That new boss may well be Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. The former Mancheter United manager has been installed as the 2/1 favourite on the Betfair Sportsbook to be the Next Permanent Wolves Manager, just ahead of Carlos Corberan at 5/2 and David Moyes at 4/1.

West Brom boss Corberan has been the early mover, shortening dramatically from his original price of 8/1 when the market first opened at around noon on Sunday.

Tractor Boys still fancied to go down

Despite Saturday's win at Molineux Ipswich remain in the relegation zone, currently 18th in the table and one point behind Crystal Palace in 17th, and they are 4/9 in the Betfair Sportsbook's Relegation market.

Southampton, who host Tottenham on Sunday evening, are the huge odds-on favourites at 1/12 to be relegated, while Leicester City, who lost 4-0 at Newcastle on Saturday afternoon, are 4/6 for the drop.

To be Relegated:

- Southampton 1/12- Ipswich 4/9- Leicester 4/6- Wolves 5/6- Everton 10/3- BAR 6/1