Enzo Maresca will be the first Premier League manager to be sacked this season, he’s lucky to succeed Pep Guardiola.That’s the opinion of talkSPORT’s chief football correspondent Alex Crook with Maresca making an underwhelming start to his tenure at the club.Maresca’s debut on the City touchline ended in resounding defeatGettyCity were beaten 3-0 in a resounding defeat by Premier League champions Arsenal in the Community Shield last weekend.Crook described them as ‘all over the place defensively’ and hinted that selling James Trafford to Leeds United may have been a mistake as Gianluigi Donnarumma had a performance to forget in goal.With the Premier League returning on Friday night when Arsenal host Coventry City, live on talkSPORT, we have brought back Fiery Fridays to help preview the 2026/27 season.Maresca tipped for the axe at CityAnd for his hot take, Crook declared that Maresca faces the very real possibility of being the first dismissal in the English top flight.He believes the former Leicester City and Chelsea boss is fortunate to have been named as City’s replacement for the legendary Guardiola and, given how they played against Arsenal, are not title contenders.“I don’t want to be over-reactionary to what we saw in Cardiff on Sunday but, if I was a Manchester City fan… I would be deeply concerned about Enzo Maresca,” he said.“I think there’s a strong argument to say Maresca will be the first managerial departure of the season. He’s got some competition because Alvaro Arbeloa at Fulham looks an appointment, to me, that is fraught with danger. “Regis Le Bris was under pressure at Sunderland towards the end of last season before qualifying for Europe, and I fear they might have a really difficult second season in the Premier League. “But, this is the argument for Maresca. First and foremost, he might be the luckiest manager in football to land the job as successor to the great Pep Guardiola. “You look at his track record – Leicester City walked the Championship under his tutelage, as they should when you look at the players at his disposal. But the fans weren’t happy with the style of play, they didn’t enjoy watching that Leicester City team.Crook has predicted Maresca to be the first managerial dismissalGettyHe believes Maresca is lucky to have replaced Guardiola, who won six league title at CityGetty“Then he up sticks for Chelsea, wins the Club World Cup – which was a glorified pre-season friendly, let’s be honest – wins the Conference League, which Chelsea should never have been playing in in the first place.“Limps into the Champions League at the end of his first full season in charge. There was a danger, going into that final day, they wouldn’t qualify for that competition. Falls out with the hierarchy. “Again, the fans are not particularly enamoured with his style of football, and now he finds himself at Manchester City, inheriting this supposedly great team that Pep Guardiola left behind.“But I’m not sure it is that great a team when you look at the departures – John Stones. Alright, he didn’t play a lot of football last season but has been a massive part of their success. “Bernardo Silva. Stuart Pearce said he is his favourite player in the Premier League. Again, so essential to what they achieved.“Rodri. The driving force, the heartbeat in that team. No coincidence that when he’s been injured for the last couple of seasons, they didn’t manage to win the Premier League title.Rodri’s move to Barcelona could have a big impact on City’s chances of successGetty“Now they’re going to cash in on Omar Marmoush (to Tottenham) as well. I know Adrian (Durham) said (Will) Lankshear (who joined Middlesbrough from Spurs) is a better player than Omar Marmoush, but who’s going to fill in for Erling Haaland if Marmoush is sold?“They don’t have another striker on their books and, as far as I’m told going into the last two weeks of the window, that isn’t a priority position. “They’re looking to bring in midfielders, we think (Ayyoub) Bouaddi is going to sign from Lille but he’s a very young player. “Enzo Fernandez, one of the most hated men in the Premier League, I still think that deal could happen but maybe that brings more baggage than Maresca realises at this moment in time. “He wants Pedro Neto, is he a massive upgrade on Savinho? I’m not sure on what we saw in the second half of last season. So, this looks a really bang average Manchester City team to me.“I got fooled, I think. When I did my predictions a couple of weeks ago, I had them as second, I must be mad! Because based on what we saw at the weekend, they’re not going to finish anywhere near second. Crook even went as far as to call Maresca a ‘Temu Pep’Getty“Then you speak to Maresca after the game, and he’s almost too laid-back, he just doesn’t seem to have that intensity and that fire that Guardiola had. “I think maybe he realises he’s a ‘Temu Pep’ and he’s lucky to be in this position so, if they start the season poorly, and Bournemouth at home (on Sunday) is not an easy game by the way.“I was down there this week and they feel pretty confident. Marco Rose, the new manager, carries himself with an air of authority that maybe Maresca doesn’t have at this moment in time. “Marco Rose, arguably, has got more experience at the top level than the man he’s going to come up against at the weekend. “I think if they start the season poorly, he’s going to find himself bang under pressure, particularly if the football’s not great. He shackled Nico O’Reilly at the weekend, that was noticeable. “Under Pep, O’Reilly, despite the fact he was playing at left-back, his job was to push up and make the extra man in midfield. He sat so deep in that Community Shield, so I think there’s a subtle difference in the style of play as well. “And, these owners are ruthless. They didn’t have to be under Guardiola because he was winning trophies season after season. But if you go back to his predecessors, (Roberto) Mancini was sacked (after) they lost the (2013) FA Cup final to Wigan. “Manuel Pellegrini also won the Premier League title, he was sacked, they didn’t mind turfing him out on his ears.“So, they’re not going to stand for average results this season, these Manchester City owners. That’s my case for Enzo Maresca being the first head on the chopping board.”