What are the odds Rafael Benitez is the next Sunderland manager? Derek McGovern's Bets of the Day

By Derek McGovern in Betting Blog

Published 22:00 28/11/11

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Usually by this time of the year, you can bet that all the leaves have fallen - along with at least one Premier League manager.

But we are fast approaching December with the 20 managers who were at the helm on day one in August still in control.

Either chairmen are becoming more patient, or every team in the Premier League is doing well.

The fact that all 20 are still in a job is terrific news for the top-flight managers, but terrible news for Sunderland.

Black Cats boss Steve Bruce woke on Sunday to learn he was 11-8 favourite with Hills to be the first top-flight boss sacked this season.

Winning just two of 13 Premier League matches does not make you a bad manager.

But losing at home to Wigan ­probably does and Bruce was ­serenaded at the final whistle on Saturday by chants of “Get out of our club you fat Geordie b*****d.”

He knows who they are and they probably won’t play for him again.

If Bruce gets sacked – and Hills suspended their market on Monday – he may well blame a Geordie... Jordi Gomez, scorer of the Wigan equaliser on Saturday.

Athletes talk about hitting a wall when they can’t go any further and that may well have happened to Bruce at Sunderland – just look at his hooter.

Bookies are betting on his successor, with Martin O’Neill the 1-2 favourite with Hills.

Rafael Benitez is 7-1 and a career path of Liverpool, Inter Milan, Sunderland would be plausible for a manager who in his last year at Anfield almost turned Liverpool into Sunderland.

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Arsenal spent last season pretending not to care about the Carling Cup, then whinged like wusses when they were beaten in the final of it.

The players Arsene Wenger normally relies on in this competition are so young they still shout three cheers for the opposition at the final whistle.

Half of them couldn’t even sprout a Movember tash.

But the Gunners boss has finally realised the Carling Cup is Arsenal’s only realistic chance of silverware.

Tuesday night’s quarter-final visitors Manchester City plan their normal wholesale Carling Cup changes, but Wenger should change his normal plans and play his first team.

Arsenal will never have a better chance of beating leg-weary City and, at 7-1, would be the logical bets to win the trophy - but only if Wenger comes to his senses (another 7-1 chance).

Blackburn are around 20-1 to lift the cup, while their quarter-final hosts Cardiff can be backed at 50s.

To qualify: 4-5 Cardiff v 10-11 Blackburn; 4-11 Chelsea v 2-1 Liverpool; 6-5 Arsenal v 8-13 Manchester City; 1-16 Manchester United v 7-1 Crystal Palace.

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BET OF THE DAY

Women dress alike all over the world.

They dress to be annoying to other women.

Get on Cardiff at 6-4 to beat Blackburn on Tuesday.

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Misha B is the 10-11 favourite to be the next act eliminated from The X Factor and the bookies have made a major rick in pricing that one up.

The only bigger rick that springs to mind is former Pop Idol contestant Rik Waller.

The 19-year-old Misha has failed to connect with the public but, like me, is still held in high regard by the judges. As a result, I usually get off with a conditional discharge.

Misha B will definitely find herself in the bottom two this weekend and she will definitely be saved by the judges again - someone’s got to sing the last line of that M&S advert for another week.

That leaves Amelia Lily as vulnerable as she was in that car park with Frankie Cocozza.

The 6-4 with Hills that she’s the next act to go won’t be there for much longer.

And nor will she.

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