REVEALED: New data shows the top performing Premier League managers this season – with a surprise leader and Pep Guardiola in 10th… but where do Erik ten Hag and Mauricio Pochettino rank on the list from stats boffins?

Pressure is mounting on several Premier League managers as we approach the final three months of the season.

Interestingly, the 2022-23 campaign saw the most managerial sackings of any season in the top-flight, with 14 managers being handed their marching orders. 

This year, though, clubs have been a little more conservative, with only Julen Lopetegui, Paul Heckingbottom and Steve Cooper being sacked so far during the current campaign. 

Both of Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag have been treading a fine line of late, with fears mounting over the Argentine manager’s future at the club. 

Despite that, some clubs have a lot to be happy about, when looking at their head coach. Aston Villa have particularly excelled since Unai Emery took over from Steven Gerrard, while Wolves have shot up to third in the League’s form table under new boss Gary O’Neil. 

Stats boffins have ranked Pep Guardiola as the 10th best performing manager so far this season

Mauricio Pochettino’s side have endured a torrid start to the 2023-24 campaign, with the Argentine being ranked as one of the lowest managers on the list

Gary O’Neil comes in as one of the top performing managers, having only taken over at Wolves at the start of the season

But which managers are performing the best this season and which are struggling?

Sports intelligence agency, Twenty First Group, have been doing the maths and believe they have established who the best performing managers are this season and there are some notable omissions in the top half of the table. 

The biggest observation to make is that Aston Villa boss Emery ranks top of the table after having guided the Midlands outfit into the top four this season. 

In fact, since taking the reins from Gerrard in November 2022, the Spaniard has turned Villa into title challengers with with Emery’s side only five points off league leaders Liverpool, having lost only five games this season. 

Emery has also pipped Jurgen Klopp to claim the top spot, having seen his side’s predicted points tally improve by 13.5 this season. 

According to the data analytics firm, their chances of securing a spot in the Champions League have also increased by 55 per cent throughout the season.   

Klopp, who delivered a shock announcement that he would be leaving Liverpool at the end of the season, comes second in the rankings with the Reds currently projected to finish on 80.6 points this season. That would narrowly just see them miss out on the title to Man City, who are being backed to surpasss them with 82.8 points this season.

But it appears Pep Guardiola has somewhat underwhelmed, according to Twenty First Group, with the defending champions’ chances of winning their fourth-straight title being cut by 14 per cent. Their manager meanwhile, has been ranked as the 10th best manager for performance, after City have dropped 0.9 points from their expected end-of-season points tally. 

One of the most interesting points to note on the chart is that all of Pochettino, Eddie Howe, Ten Hag and Roberto De Zerbi rank in the bottom half of the table for manager’s league performance. 

Twenty First Group have revealed the top performing managers so far this season

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery tops the charts as the Premier League’s top performing manager so far this season

He pips Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp to the accolade after the Liverpool boss announced he’d be leaving his role as Liverpool boss 

Erik ten Hag meanwhile ranked 13th on the list with United and are now an outsider to qualify for the Champions League

Ten Hag currently sits 13th in the rankings, with Man United having lost 3.2 points off their predicted points tally this season. The Dutchman’s side have also dropped to sixth in the table and sit eight points off a place in the top four, with Twenty First Group stating that the Red Devils’ chances of qualifying for the Champions League have dropped by 33 per cent. 

It comes as the United boss has had a difficult second season in Manchester. While dealing with several off-field disciplinary issues, his side have endured a turbulent run of form that has seen United fail to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League and have now lost nine games this season. 

Pressure has been mounting on Ten Hag, with Roy Kean recently admitting that the Dutchman is ‘on trial’ at Old Trafford, with INEOS set to ‘speak publically’ about the Dutchman’s future. 

Below him comes Magpies boss Howe, who has also faced some criticism this season, after Newcastle have failed to live up to their form of the previous campaign.  Howe’s side have fallen to ninth in the Premier League and have lost five of their last 10 matches, with the English manager sitting 15th in the standings of the best managers in the top-flight. 

Pochettino’s side have also endured a tough time in the 2023-24 campaign, and have lost 6.4 points off their end of season projected points tally. That has left the Argentine manager sitting fifth from bottom in the standings, one place below Crystal Palace’s Roy Hodgson, who has also come under fire this season.   

Mail Sport understands though that while pressure is mounting on Todd Boehly to sack Pochettino, the club will not part ways with him as paying off his severance fees, which stand at more than £10million, could plunge them into breaching profit and sustainability rules.

But after their 4-2 defeat by Wolves last weekend, the Argentine manager admitted that his job may not be totally safe. He said: ‘At the moment, that is the reality. Myself, also. I’m the first one responsible. What we were showing was that we are not good enough. We didn’t manage the situation properly and, of course, no one can be safe.’ 

He added: ‘We are all responsible. The players need to take responsibility like I take responsibility. At the moment, we are not matching the history of the club. That is true.’ 

Eddie Howe has also come under some pressure this season after Newcastle have dropped to ninth in nthe league table

Thomas Frank, meanwhile, sits bottom of the table after brentford have won just one game in their last five matches 

Wolves, meanwhile, have enjoyed a great season under Gary O’neil. Their new manager has shot up to fourth place after taking over from Julen Lopetegui at the start of the season.

The Englishman has helped Wolves improve their projected final projected points tally by 8.0, after Wolves climbed to tenth in the league having won nine and lost nine of their most previous matches. In fact, the Midlands club have risen to being third in the league’s form table, following recent victories against Chelsea, Everton and Brentford.  

He is followed by the ever-likable Rob Edwards, who has helped newly promoted Luton pick up a projected 7.8 more points than anticipated. Luton currently also have improved their chances of survival by 28 per cent, but t 

At the bottom of the table, Thomas Frank has been ranked as the worst-performing manager, with Brentford being predicted to lost 10.9 points this season with his side having won just one of their last five league matches.