Barcelona legend favourite to nick Chelsea manager’s job from Enzo Maresca amid sack latest
Enzo Maresca’s position at Chelsea has been called into question after his side collapsed against Aston Villa on Saturday.
Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Villa at Stamford Bridge, despite a dominant first half that had seen the visitors fail to even take a shot.
Ollie Watkins‘ introduction in the second-half was key, with the striker netting twice to turn the game on its head and into the Villans’ favour.
Maresca was linked with a return to Manchester City last week, with the Citizens reportedly sounding out potential replacements in the event of Pep Guardiola‘s departure.
Chelsea could move for Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior, who is liked by owners BlueCo, should the Italian leave Stamford Bridge.
Pressure grows at Chelsea as odds slashed
Chelsea had looked as if they could be ready to mount a title challenge just weeks ago, but December has proved a damaging month.
Despite an encouraging draw with Premier League leaders Arsenal, the Blues followed it by failing to win any of their next three games.
Victories against Everton and Cardiff City looked to have got Maresca‘s side back on course, but both games were overshadowed by his comments after beating the Toffees.
In a surprising press conference following the win, Maresca claimed that he had endured the worst 48 hours of his Chelsea tenure, citing a lack of support from those above him.
His side blocked out the noise to get past Cardiff in the Carabao Cup quarter-final, but have failed to win in games against Newcastle United and Villa since.
The Chelsea boss watched from the stands on Saturday, as he served a one-match touchline ban after receiving five yellow cards.
Odds on Maresca becoming the next Premier League manager to leave his post have been slashed to 9/1 since the defeat, with Scott Parker at Burnley (3/1) still leading the race according to one major bookmaker.
Xavi named as Chelsea favourite
Xavi is yet to return to management since leaving Barcelona in 2024. The club legend took over at Camp Nou in 2021, after two years with Qatari team Al Sadd.
The Spaniard led his side to the La Liga title in 2022-23, extending his contract until 2025 following the season.
| Xavi | Barcelona |
| Wins | 91 |
| Draws | 23 |
| Losses | 29 |
| Scored | 280 |
| Conceded | 158 |
But after a string of disappointing results in the following campaign, Xavi announced that he would leave the club at the end of the season.
However, just four months later, he would reverse his decision and express his wish to see out his contract – a wish that would be denied, when he was sacked in May 2024.
Xavi is yet to return to management, but he has emerged as the front-runner for the Chelsea job at 5/1 odds ahead of Marco Silva (6/1), according to one major bookmaker.