Next Cardiff City Manager Odds: Omer Riza Hot Favourite For Bluebirds Job
Cardiff's search for a new manager continues after the club decided to sack Erol Bulut last month.
Despite losing his first game as caretaker manager, Omer Riza has otherwise done a magnificent job, taking 10 points from his last four games in charge.
UK betting sites are constantly tweaking the odds on who will be named Cardiff's next manager.
The Bluebirds recently moved off the foot of the Championship table and are now out of the bottom three following Tuesday's 2-0 victory over relegation rivals Portsmouth, so Riza certainly seems to be in the driving seat.
But, who are the other contenders to succeed Bulut on a full-time basis? You can find the latest odds below, followed by our analysis of the situation.
Next Cardiff Manager Odds: Riza On A Roll
Riza, who only retired from playing less than three years ago, was 8/1 to land the Cardiff job on a permanent basis at the time of our last preview, but having turned around the club's fortunes he is now a best-priced 1/3 with BetVictor.
Riza's temporary reign started with a discouraging 4-1 defeat at Hull, but since then Cardiff have won all three home games against Millwall, Plymouth and Pompey without conceding and by an 8-0 aggregate.
The Bluebirds had also drawn 1-1 at Bristol City before the second international break and are now 19th in the table, two points clear of the bottom three.
* Win a VIP trip for 2 to the Las Vegas Grand Prix - return flights from London, five nights in the Linq Hotel and Casino PLUS $2,000 spending money! Enter our FREE competition below:
After the 2-0 midweek win against Portsmouth, Riza admitted he is constantly in touch with owner Vincent Tan and is keen to see what the future holds.
He said: "I have chats with the owner all the time...clarity is always best because then you can really move forward with the plans the club's got in place or the plans I might have.
"Of course, it would be nice to have some clarity, but in the meantime what's important is that we are going well. We are getting the points and we have climbed off the bottom off the table."
Will his next chat with Tan be about his appointment as Cardiff manager? He can do no more and a win at West Brom this weekend will surely see him get the job.
Mowbray Could Make Return
Tony Mowbray was the 4/1 favourite to return to the dugout until Riza sparked a remarkable turnaround at the Welsh club and his odds have since drifted to 6/1 with football betting sites.
Mowbray was last in charge of Birmingham, but took sick leave in February and then resigned in May to focus on his recovery from an unspecified illness.
However, the former Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Sunderland manager has reportedly been sounded out as a replacement for Bulut.
At the end of August on a return to St Andrew’s, Mowbray revealed that he was “almost back to normal”, but added that he was “still a bit weak” and “still need to give myself a few months”.
It’s possible that Mowbray’s recovery is ahead of schedule, but in any case he will need a dramatic collapse from Cardiff in the next few weeks to jump the queue currently headed by Riza.
Mowbray is a highly-experienced manager at this level, having led West Brom to the Premier League as Championship winners in the 2007/08 season.
He also led Blackburn back to the second tier at the first time of asking in the 2017/18 campaign when they finished runners-up to local rivals Wigan.
Ruben Selles A Royal Magician
Reading manager Ruben Selles is enhancing his burgeoning reputation every week and is now 8/1 third favourite to fill the Cardiff vacancy.
The former Southampton boss has been working under difficult circumstances at the Madejski Stadium amid last month’s failed takeover.
The last few years have been marred by transfer embargos and numerous points being docked over financial matters, but Selles is taking it all in his stride.
The Royals made it four wins in five with their first away victory of the season during the week, a 2-1 success at high-flying Exeter which moved them to the fringe of the play-offs after 11 games.
Manager | Odds | Bookmaker |
Omer Riza | 1/3 | |
Tony Mowbray | 6/1 | |
Ruben Selles | 8/1 | |
Slaven Bilic | 12/1 | |
Ryan Lowe | 20/1 | |
Steven Schumacher | 25/1 | |
Michael Beale | 25/1 |
Bilic No Longer Favourite
Slaven Bilic was the 3/1 favourite last week to take the reins at Cardiff, but the feel-good factor under Riza and the emergence of Mowbray have seen his odds quadrupled to 12/1.
The Croatian has been out of work since leaving Saudi Arabian side Al-Fateh by mutual consent in the summer.
Bilic has coached three English clubs, starting with a relatively successful spell with West Ham between 2015-17.
In his first season, the Hammers finished seventh in the Premier League and made it to the qualifying rounds of the Europa League.
The following season, the first at the London Stadium, was much more challenging and saw star player Dimitri Payet rejoin Marseille during the 2017 January transfer window.
Bilic was sacked in November 2017 and after a disappointing five months in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, returned to England with West Brom, guiding the club to the Premier League as Championship runners-up in the 2019/20 season.
The former Croatia head coach also had a stint in charge of Watford in the 2022/23 campaign which lasted just six months despite the club being in ninth place and just four points adrift of the play-offs at the time of his dismissal.
Lowe Losing Momentum
Former Preston manager Ryan Lowe had been the 3/1 joint-favourite at one point, but Riza's excellent temporary spell in charge has seen his odds lengthen to 20/1.
Lowe began the season as North End's boss, but he was relieved of his duties following the club's 2-0 defeat at home to Sheffield United on the Championship's opening weekend.
The 45-year-old might be keen on a quick return to management after his spell at Deepdale, where he guided Preston to 13th, 12th and 10th over three seasons.
Steven Schumacher Out Of The Picture
Steven Schumacher was a Championship manager until recently. But after a poor start to the campaign with Stoke, the former Plymouth head coach was dismissed last month.
He is one of two men priced at 25/1 on betting apps to fill the Cardiff vacancy.
For what it is worth, most Stoke supporters felt the sacking of Schumacher was premature. He has Championship experience and is now out of work, so no compensation would have to be made by Cardiff.
However, this would not be a particularly exciting appointment and Cardiff may be tempted to explore other options first.
Early Beale Interest Waning
Michael Beale made his name working as a coach under Steven Gerrard at Rangers and Aston Villa, but got his first break as a manager at QPR.
After a poor start, the Londoner oversaw eight victories in 11 matches to send QPR to the top of the Championship table, although they slipped back following four defeats in five outings.
Beale turned down the chance to become Wolves' new manager in October 2022, but he could not resist when Rangers came calling a month later.
* Attention football fans, want to win back the cost of your season ticket? Enter our free competition below. A winner chosen every month this season.
Despite a good start, Gers failed to win a trophy that season and he was sacked 11 months later.
Beale was soon back in work as manager of Sunderland in December 2023, but he lasted just nine weeks and was dismissed in February having overseen just 12 games, the shortest managerial stint in the Black Cats' history.
He still has his success at QPR and as a Rangers coach to draw upon, but Beale's price recently doubled to 25/1 in the next Cardiff manager odds.
Stay In The Loop With Free Bets, Insider Tips & More!
Live Betting. Sports Promos. Sent Weekly.
