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Liverpool's season could plunge into further disarray after Chelsea’s sacking of Graham Potter.
On Sunday night the Reds dismissed Potter after a dismal run of 11 defeats in 31 games since replacing Thomas Tuchel back in September.
The Blues are now 11th in the Premier League table, 12 points adrift of the Champions League spots, despite having spent some £550million on players this term alone.
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In a statement, co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: "We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person.
"He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome."
The sacking has received a range of responses from the footballing world. Some Chelsea fans have welcomed the move, while a contingent of pundits and former players have criticised the decision.
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, for example, tweeted: “Todd said he would be different to Roman [Abramovich].
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“I feel for Graham Potter, but it was inevitable. You don’t change Tuchel for Potter. Ridiculous decision to start with.”
Chelsea’s ‘no-manager bounce’?
Next up for Chelsea is Liverpool, who are licking their wounds after a 4-1 defeat to Manchester City.
The Reds are another member of the traditional ‘top-six’ that are experiencing a tumultuous season. Klopp’s men are currently eighth in the Premier League, some eight points adrift of the top four.
And their season could hit another low on Tuesday night should Chelsea be affected by a ‘no-manager bounce’.
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Bruno Saltor - one of the coaches that followed Potter from Brighton to west London after the latter was hired - has been named as Chelsea’s new interim head coach ahead of the Liverpool clash.
Of course, it could be the worse time for Jurgen Klopp’s men to take on Chelsea, given the traditional up-turn in form experienced by clubs upon making a managerial change.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had a brilliant start to his life at Manchester United after taking over from Jose Mourinho in 2018.
United beat Cardiff City 5-1 in his opening match - the first time United had scored five or more goals in a Premier League game since a 5–5 draw with West Brom in Sir Alex Ferguson's final game in charge before his retirement.
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The Norwegian went on to win the next four league games, becoming the first manager to win their first five league games in charge of United since Sir Matt Busby in 1946.
Mourinho also had a flying start to his Tottenham career when he replaced Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019, winning his debut match 3-2 away against West Ham and registering four victories in his first five league games.
Meanwhile, a ‘no-manager bounce’ has also existed in the past. Michael Carrick had an unbeaten three-match tenure as caretaker United manager upon the dismissal of Solskjaer.
That run included a 3-2 win over Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in his final game in charge.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: Football, Graham Potter, Chelsea, Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer