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| Jose Mourinho could be sacked if defeated by Jurgen Klopp |
JOSE MOURINHO'S future at Chelsea could hinge on beating Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
Defeat - which would mean six defeats in 11 league games this season - would leave Mourinho's job hanging by a thread, with owner Roman Abramovich deeply concerned not just about results but, crucially, about the image of the club.
That took a further battering on Saturday as Chelsea crashed disastrously 2-1 at West Ham. But it was the scenes that accompanied the loss that could really damage the Portuguese, as Mourinho, coach Silvino Louro and midfielder Nemanja Matic were all sent off, amid seven bookings.
Mourinho was publicly backed by Abramovich three weeks ago but it is now understood that his job is again under threat after the appalling loss of discipline at Upton Park.
A bad defeat against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool would be a blow which the Special One would not be expected to survive after the club's worst start to a Premier League season.
The problem for Abramovich is that there are not many options available as replacements, although former caretaker manager Guus Hiddink, who steered the club to the FA Cup in 2009, is out of work, as is former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Double at Stamford Bridge in 2010 before being sacked a year later.
Klopp helped end Mourinho's reign at Real Madrid when his Borussia Dortmund side beat them 4-3 on aggregate in the 2013 Champions League semi-finals.
Mourinho, already appealing against a £50,000 FA fine and suspended one game stadium ban, is likely to face another charge and possibly a touchline ban when the FA examine referee Jonathan Moss' report today, as will Louro.
The club will also face charges for failing to control their players after the seven yellow cards, plus a charge from the Premier League for either Mourinho or an assistant appearing to speak to the media after the match.
Abramovich hates his club being in the media spotlight for the wrong reasons - and it has been a recurring problem with Mourinho this season as things have unravelled, with the row over doctor Eva Carneiro earlier this season kicking things off.
Chelsea face Stoke at the Britannia Stadium tomorrow night in the Capital One Cup, and then Liverpool on Saturday. They then meet Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League, and Stoke away again in the Premier League - after which there is an international break. After Matic and Louro's dismissals, and after Chelsea had two goals ruled out, Mourinho had a major row with Moss in the referee's room at half time at Upton Park - and was sent to the stands.
West Ham's manager Slaven Bilic, himself sent off three times as a manager including once this season, said: "It is very difficult to control your emotions. We are all human, no matter who you are coaching, or how high your wages are - you are still an emotional guy. It is hard to control, especially if it happens a few games on the trot. I feel for Mourinho."
Chelsea once again started slowly on Saturday, and fell behind when they failed to clear Dimitri Payet's corner, and Mauro Zarate drilled home.
Then Kurt Zouma's header failed to cross the line by a centimetre, and Cesc Fabregas saw his effort ruled out for offside. Off went Matic for two stupid yellow cards - and then Louro, who harangued the fourth official. And then, of course, Mourinho.
Ten man Chelsea, though, came out for the second half in determined mood , and Gary Cahill hooked them level from close range. It looked like an unlikely point might be possible. But then Bilic threw on substitute Andy Carroll, who after only ten minutes on the pitch, climbed above a static defence to score his first goal since January.
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