Chelsea will be at home when they tackle Malmo in one of Thursday’s Europa League fixtures, hoping to make it to round-16 of the competition.
The Blues need just a draw against Malmo and it shouldn’t be too difficult to achieve considering the profile of their opponents.
As much as the host are preparing for tonight’s clash, one match will definitely at the back of their mind and that’s the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
The highly anticipated clash is schedule to take place at the Wembley stadium on Sunday and the Blues must do everything possible to prevent Pep Guardiola from defending the title they won last season.
To many Chelsea players, the Carabao cup final is another opportunity to prove their worth against Manchester City who thrashed them by a 6-goal margin some days ago.
To many pundits and Chelsea legends, the clash between both clubs is a second chance for the West London outfits to prove their critics wrong after their recent humiliations in the hands of the two Manchester clubs (City and United).
What does Saturday’s clash mean to Maurizio Sarri, is it a chance to revenge against the side who condemned him to the heaviest defeat of his managerial career OR an opportunity to bolster his chances of retaining his job beyond this season?
As a revenge
Nothing makes a coach looks more inferior than losing by wide goal margin without providing a great response in the next fixture.
This is the best way to explain Maurizio Sarri’s present situation at Stamford Bridge. The Italian saw his side conceded six goals against Manchester City and they couldn’t find the back of the net last week.
Some days later, the Blues tackled Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round but the night ended bitterly for the former Napoli manager.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men scored two goals and they maintained a clean sheet against the West London outfits.
Sarri will approach Sunday’s clash with a mission to revenge his 6-0 defeat to Guardiola’s men.
However, defeating in-form Manchester City requires more dedication and zeal from Chelsea not just a mere anger for revenge.
As a boost to retain his job
Maurizio Sarri is obviously under great pressure to retain his job beyond this season due to his team’s poor run of form.
They have dropped from fourth to 6th position in the League standing and that has fuelled more speculations he could be sacked anytime soon.
However, the former Napoli boss knows the role a Carabao Cup could play in his mission to avoid being sacked, so, he will see Sunday’s game as another opportunity to win his employers and supporters’ heart.
Should he defeat the Cityzens to the Carabao glory, Sarri could be given a second chance by Roman Abramovich who isn’t known to have patience with his managers.
Whichever angle you see it from, the most important thing is victory and the Blues can’t afford to be defeated by their arch rivals once again .