LONDON: Claudio Ranieri has been sacked by Watford after 14 matches and 16 weeks in which he took them down from 15th in the Premier League to 19th and into the relegation zone.

The veteran Italian signed a two-year deal at Vicarage Road in October, replacing Xisco Munoz under whom the Hornets had taken seven points from their first seven Premier League games.

But Ranieri managed only to double that points tally during his 13 top-flight matches in charge. Friday’s defeat at home to Norwich means and sit just two points above bottom-placed Burnley, who have two games in hand on the Hertfordshire side.

The relegation rivals will go toe-to-toe in a rearranged encounter at Turf Moor this weekend, with last Friday’s chastening 3-0 home loss to struggling Norwich seemingly the final straw for the Watford hierarchy.

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