Chelsea and Manchester United face each other on Thursday in what is a huge game for their managers.
Dropping points against a 10-man Burnley side last time out and currently sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League table, the pressure is on Mauricio Pochettino at Chelsea.
It is similar for Erik ten Hag as well. While United are obviously doing much better than their upcoming opponents, INEOS taking over football operations at Old Trafford has put the Dutchman’s future as manager in doubt.
According to the Daily Star, Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants to replace Ten Hag with England boss Gareth Southgate in the summer.
There is no doubt, then, that Thursday’s game is a big one for both Pochettino and Ten Hag.
Andy Townsend on Mauricio Pochettino and Erik ten Hag
With Chelsea welcoming United to Stamford Bridge later this week, Andy Townsend has been speaking about the two clubs and their respective managers.
The former Chelsea midfielder thinks both teams are really struggling right now.
However, he fears for one manager more than the other. Discussing Pochettino and Ten Hag on talkSPORT, he said: “Out of the two, I would fear for Ten Hag more, only because he’s not a Ratcliffe or Brailsford choice. They’ve come in after him. Usually when new owners or people that are taking the club supposedly in a different direction [come in], they end up changing the coach, they do.
“So I would fear for him a little bit more than Poch, but both take one step forward and all of a sudden you’re thinking, ‘Yeah, things are looking better’, then the next minute, they lose a game and all hell lets loose once more. So they’re both struggling for consistency, they’re both struggling really, I think, personnel wise. I don’t think neither Chelsea nor Manchester United are strong enough yet to put the sort of run together that’s going to catapult them up the table.”
Would Mauricio Pochettino be sacked if Chelsea lose against Manchester United?
We are in April now. There is probably little point in getting rid of Pochettino this late in the season.
Even if Chelsea lose against United Thursday evening, there is a good chance that the Argentine remains in charge.
The club let Pochettino get this far and there is not much to play for at this stage. It is easy to see a scenario where they keep the 52-year-old until the end of the campaign before eventually parting ways.
Who could come in if Pochettino does leave Chelsea? It has been claimed that Xavi is one manager who the club are interested in, with the legendary midfielder departing Barcelona in the summer.
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