Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is certainly standing on very shaky ground in regards to his job status, as it appears the supporters have really turned on him. Following Chelsea’s crashing out of the FA Cup at home at the hands of Manchester United last night, the supporter songs and chants told you everything you really needed to know about the temperature of his seat right now.
Reportedly, he won’t be sacked until after the EFL Cup final versus Manchester City at the end of the week, but how long he stays beyond that is anybody’s guess, given all the massive and humiliating losses that Chelsea have suffered lately. With the fan base now mostly against the Italian, he is reliant on the patience of owner Roman Abramovich. You already know how that story turns out.
The good news for Sarri and Sarriball is they come into Thursday night’s UEFA Europa League round of 32 clash with a nearly fully fit squad. The bad news is that Malmo does as well. However, with the Blues holding a 2-1 goal advantage on aggregate, they can sort of cruise through in this clash and then easily find themselves into the round of 16.
Ultimately winning what is Europe’s secondary competition might prove to be the better and more manageable path towards returning to Champions League. With the race for the top four becoming all the more crowded and competitive, Chelsea have a great opportunity in the UEL.
With the EFL Cup final taking place three days after this clash, Sarri may rest several players when he picks his starting XI here.
The Bank Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction vs Malmo (UEFA Europa League round of 32)
Attack: Callum Hudson-Odoi, Olivier Giroud, Willian
Midfield: Mateo Kovacic, Jorginho, Ross Barkley
Defense: Davide Zappacosta, Andreas Christensen, Antonio Rudiger, Emerson Palmieri
Goalkeeper: Kepa Arrizabalaga
Chelsea FC vs Malmo UEFA Europa League Round of 32 FYIs
Kickoff: Thursday, February 21, 8pm, Stamford Bridge
Odds via Bet365 to win UEL tournament: Chelsea 4/1, Arsenal 6/1, Napoli 6/1, Inter 10/1, Sevilla 12/1
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.