Ranieri favourite to be next Watford manager
CLAUDIO RANIERI is the bookmakers’ favourite to replace Walter Mazzarri as Watford manager after the Premier League club announced they would be looking for a new boss after their 2016-17 finale against Manchester City on Sunday.
Ranieri, sacked by Leicester in February just nine months after winning the Premier League title with the club, is 9-4 to be next through the Vicarage Road doors.
BoyleSports initially went 11-2 Ranieri with Marco Silva as market leader but they soon flipped with the Hull boss 5-1 with Coral and Ladbrokes.
Watford have lost their last five matches and sit 16th in the table, only six points above the drop zone with the match against City to come as Pep Guardiola’s side look to confirm third spot.
That would secure a direct path to next season’s Champions League without the need for a playoff with only a remarkable set of results able to cost them at worst a fourth-place finish following Wednesday’s 3-1 win over West Brom.
Arsenal beat Sunderland 2-0 but need to better Liverpool’s result on Sunday to stand a chance of making the top four.
The Gunners, who host Everton at the same time that Liverpool welcome relegated Middlesbrough to Anfield, are 6-1 to sneak in with the Merseysiders at 1-7.
Alexis Sanchez hit a double for Arsenal to take his tally to 23 Premier League goals for the season, one behind Everton forward Romelu Lukaku.
Sanchez is 9-2 to finish as the top goalscorer, while Lukaku is out to 4-7 with Harry Kane the only other realistic candidate.
Kane took the Golden Boor last year and is 4-1 to do so again with away matches at Leicester and Hull left for the Spurs man, who trails Lukaku by two goals.
