| Prefer us on Google — see Tips.gg in Top Stories & Discover | Add on Google |
Michael Carrick and Roberto De Zerbi both arrived in their posts in 2026, and both are already being discussed as favourites for the axe. Their teams meet on Saturday with six Premier League games gone, and the pressure on each bench has rarely felt heavier this early in a campaign.
The numbers explain the chatter. Manchester United have won just one of their opening five league matches, while Tottenham Hotspur sit bottom of the table with only two draws to their name. Clubs of that stature rarely tolerate such returns, and markets have reacted accordingly by naming Carrick and De Zerbi among the leading candidates to be the next managerial casualty in the division.
Only two other top-flight bosses remain winless this season: Fulham‘s Alvaro Arbeloa and AFC Bournemouth‘s Marco Rose, both of whom inherited their jobs recently after their predecessors left for other roles. Context matters here, and it separates Carrick and De Zerbi from managers given more grace.
Man United’s Struggles Don’t Demand a Reset
Aston Villa and Coventry City occupy two of the bottom five spots themselves, both stuck in four-match winless runs. Unai Emery remains in his job longer than every Premier League manager bar Mikel Arteta, and Frank Lampard approaches two years in charge at Coventry. Patience has been extended to both. The equation looks different for Carrick and De Zerbi once the gap between expectation and current reality at their clubs enters the conversation, which explains the sack-race odds. That doesn’t make an early dismissal justified.
It is mid-October, and this represents the sixth league fixture of the 2026/27 season for both clubs. The campaign feels advanced on the calendar, yet disrupted in practice. A transfer window that stayed open into September and an extended international break before that month’s end have combined to produce an opening stretch unlike a normal season start.
A home defeat to Tottenham would leave United winless in four and intensify scrutiny on Carrick, doubly so given the opponent represents his former club. The broader noise about his position should stop short of serious action regardless of Saturday’s result.
United’s squad is stronger than one win in five suggests. That is a fair criticism of the start to the season, but it also offers grounds for confidence given the quality and leadership already present in the squad. Last season’s run to third carried a bounce effect, built on a simplified approach and a fresh voice unlocking talent that had stalled under previous management.
Writing off that spell as the ceiling of Carrick’s ability would be premature. He managed half a season and proved sharp enough to turn theory into results, even if this first run of adversity in his second head coach role raises legitimate questions. A club with United’s resources tends to be its own biggest obstacle. When things align on and off the pitch, this group is hard to beat.
Stability and composure matter more than a knee-jerk change right now. Carrick won’t earn unconditional backing forever, but six matches into a new season is far too early to make a drastic call.
De Zerbi’s Position Needs More Time to Judge Fairly
Carrick hosts Spurs at Old Trafford on Saturday, facing De Zerbi’s side for the second time in his young managerial career. De Zerbi’s Brighton & Hove Albion beat Middlesbrough 5-1 in the FA Cup nearly four years ago, a result that feels distant given his current struggles at Tottenham.
He isn’t alone among Spurs managers in facing this kind of pressure. Consecutive seasons finishing just above the relegation zone can’t be dismissed as irrelevant, and a big summer outlay guarantees nothing in terms of an immediate return to previous standards.
Spurs have become a difficult job. Nobody can say with certainty that De Zerbi is the right man to turn the club around, but five or six league games provide nowhere near enough evidence to conclude he isn’t either.
De Zerbi inherited a different situation than Carrick, over a shorter period, yet both delivered what was asked of them from difficult starting points. Both have also had to navigate the same disruption affecting the other eighteen Premier League managers this season.
Whatever happens on Saturday, dismissing the losing manager would be premature. Both clubs should hold steady, at least for now, given what each boss has already produced compared to the manager before them.
Read also: Manchester United vs Tottenham Prediction: 10.10.2026 English Premier League Preview
Too soon doesn’t mean the critics are wrong. It simply means the verdict isn’t ready yet. Follow TipsGG for continued analysis as this sack race story develops through the season.