Mauricio Pochettino warned he will be sacked if 'lost' Chelsea exit FA Cup at Aston Villa with Todd Boehly's patience set to run out due to 'chaos' on the pitch

The Argentine manager is under more pressure after Chelsea were thrashed 4-2 by Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, just four days after the Blues were hammered 4-1 by Liverpool. Chelsea are 11th in the table and have won just nine of their 23 Premier League matches this season. They could face more misery on Wednesday when they visit Aston Villa in an FA Cup fourth round replay.

"I wouldn't be surprised if Chelsea sacked Mauricio Pochettino. Chelsea have spent so much money on players - they have good players in the team - but obviously it's not working out," former Manchester United striker Berbatov told Betfair. "The last game against Wolves, when Chelsea lost 4-2 at Stamford Bridge, was a prime example of the chaos that's happening on the pitch. You can see Chelsea are lost, at times, and don't know what to do. Of course, you can't get rid of the whole team. The manager is always the first to go. Pochettino always tried to say that Chelsea was a long-term project, but in modern football, the owners of clubs don't have that patience. If Chelsea lose the next game, I think Pochettino will get sacked."

Chelsea have cycled through four managers already since Todd Boehly led their takeover in the summer of 2022 in a deal worth up to £4.2 billion ($5.3bn). The US billionaire sacked Thomas Tuchel just one month into the season and then fired his successor Graham Potter less than seven months later, installing Frank Lampard as interim coach until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Boehly has spent more than £1 billion ($1.3bn) on transfers since taking control of Chelsea. The Blues' wild spending means they could face a charge from the Premier League and be docked points for flouting financial fair play rules unless they sell players for big fees this summer.

On Wednesday, Chelsea face an in-form Aston Villa side, who recently thrashed Sheffield United 5-0, for a place in the FA Cup fifth round. Their next Premier League match is away to Crystal Palace on Monday.