Recent media reports have claimed that Chelsea chairman Roman Abramovich is growing increasingly restless with his young manager. The Portuguese coach has struggled to adjust to the Premier League with Chelsea now in real danger of finishing outside of the top four for the first time since the 2001/02 season. Abramovich famously axed Carlo Ancelotti last summer despite the Italian winning the league and cup double only a year earlier. AVM has been criticised for being out of his depth and with the league title out of the question he may simply have to win the Champions League just to hold onto his job.

It could prove to be a defining couple of weeks for The Blues who face Everton at Goodison Park on Saturday, followed by a trip to Italy to play Napoli in the Champions League and then a home tie against Birmingham City in the fifth round of the FA Cup. If AVB was to lose his job the Next Chelsea Manager market currently indicates that former manager Guus Hiddink is the favourite to replace him, with the likes of Barcelona boss Pep Guadiola, Norwich City gaffer Brendan Rodgers and under-fire Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho also featuring in the odds.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Arsenal have yet to win a league game this year, losing three consecutive matches to Fulham, Swansea and Man Utd before being held by Bolton. Next up for the Gunners is Blackburn Rovers at home followed by a trip to in-form Sunderland. After these two fixtures they have a potentially make or break four weeks where they face AC Milan in the Champions League second round, a journey up North to play either Sunderland or Middlesbrough in the fifth round of the FA Cup and crucial league games against Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle.

Wenger insists that his side’s current form is a mere blip and remains confident as ever that his team can pull themselves together and get back to winning ways. Luckily for Arsenal their top four challengers Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle have also struggled for consistency but with Liverpool and Newcastle winning mid-week the pressure is on Arsenal. The Gunners haven’t finished outside of the top four under Wenger and the Frenchman certainly doesn’t want to break that trend, with the club currently priced at 3/1 to finish in the top four.

Jose Mourinho may leave Real Madrid this summer

Last week rumours surfaced linking Wenger with a shock move to Real Madrid. Real boss Jose Mourinho has come under heavy pressure following player bust-ups and a difficult relationship with the club’s hierarchy, with media reports suggesting Wenger and Mourinho would swap jobs. Wenger has been installed as one of the favourites in the Next Real Madrid Manager Betting, while Mourinho has long expressed his desire to return to England. If Mourinho was to leave Real at the end of the season and Arsenal fail to get into the Champions League then you never know Wenger may just be persuaded to move to Spain.

Arsenal host Blackburn at the Emirates on Saturday looking to put an end to their dismal league run. Stan James have installed The Gunners as the 1/4 favourites, while Rovers can be backed at 12/1, with a draw available at 9/4.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

In the aftermath of Real’s home defeat to Barcelona in the first-leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final media reports surfaced that Mourinho had a bust-up with players Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas. A few days later Real fans booed Mourinho during their game with Athletic Bilbao for employing negative tactics, even though they came out on top 4-1.  This week Mourinho’s poor record against Barcelona continued when they got knocked out of the cup, although they deserve huge credit for the character they showed in fighting back from two goals down to draw level. It is believed that Mourinho must now win both La Liga and the Champions League in order to hold onto his job.

Bookmakers Stan James have reacted to the speculation by opening up a Next Real Madrid Manager betting market. Germany boss Joachim Low is the frontrunner in the betting, while Arsene Wenger, Guus Hiddink and Fabio Capello also feature. Mourinho has not been shy in stating his love for English football and is almost certainly expected to return at some point in the future. He is currently the favourite in the next Man Utd, Man City and Tottenham manager betting markets, as well as featuring prominantly in the Chelsea and Liverpool manager odds.

Real are at home to bottom of the table Real Zaragoza on Saturday. They are the overwhelming odds-on 1/20 favourites for the match, while Zaragoza have been handed long odds of 33/1, with a draw available at 11/1. Real are the 4/7 favourites to win La Liga and second favourites (behind Barcelona) at 5/2 to win the Champions League for the first time since 2002.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Wenger has come out and defended the substitution and said that he doesn’t have to justify his decisions. The more worrying matter is that Arsenal have now suffered three straight league defeats – for the first time since 2005 – which leaves them five points behind fourth placed Chelsea. The Gunners are currently battling the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle for a Champions League spot, which looks like it will go right down to the wire. At the moment Arsenal are priced at 2/1 with William Hill to finish in the top 4, while they have odds of 13/2 in the Premier League Winner Without Man Utd & Man City betting market.

The Gunners are next in action on Sunday when they host Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round. William Hill have installed Arsenal as the odds-on 8/15 favourites for the win, while Villa have been priced at 4/1, with a draw available at 13/5. The FA Cup was the last trophy won by Arsenal back in 2005 and they will be hoping to get their hands on the trophy once again this season.

Odds supplied by William Hill.

United suffered an against-the-odds home defeat to basement club Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Eve and then just four days later they were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by an inspired Newcastle side at the Sports Direct Arena. Two defeats in a row is certainly not a crisis but history tells us that it doesn’t happen often at the club and has therefore got the alarm bells ringing. Of course United are by no means out of the title race but traditionally this is the period in which they begin to hit form. Fergie has far too much experience to panic but he will be worried about his rapidly growing injury list. United’s injury hit squad has recently forced Fergie to employ Michael Carrick at centre-back and Antionio Valencia at right-back. The fans are crying out for some new signings this January – most notably a creative midfield player who can fill the void that Paul Scholes left – but with Fergie usually saving his transfer business until the summer it will be interesting to see if he decides to splash out and bring in a blockbuster name.

Last week Fergie stated that he was ready for another three more years at the club, providing he remained healthy. He may have reached the grand old age of 70 but it is clear that he still has the hunger for success. In the When Will Alex Ferguson Retire? betting market he is priced at 5/1 with Stan James to step down this year, 10/3 in 2013, 6/5 in 2014 and 9/4 in 2015 or after.

Roy Keane was long thought of has an ideal replacement but his decision to quit Sunderland back combined with his disappointing stint in charge of Ipswich have severely hampered his chances. At the moment the Next Man Utd Manager Betting indicates that Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is the favourite to succeed Ferguson. The charismatic Special One has not been shy in revealing that he would love to return to England and is a manager who is admired by Ferguson. Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola may fancy a new challenge or if Martin O’Neill is successful at Sunderland he may be considered the man to step up to the plate.

Odds courtesy of Stan James.

Earlier this week Spurs Chairman Daniel Lecy stated that his manager will not consider the England job at the present time. Redknapp, who still has 18 months left on his contract, is totally focused on his job at hand at Spurs and after getting a taste of Champions League football last season he is desperate for the club to qualify for Europe’s elite competition once again. The North London club recently went on a 11 match unbeaten league run – including six wins on the spin – and are currently looking good in 4th, with a game in hand over 3rd place Chelsea.

Back in September Redknapp said that it would be hard to turn down the chance to become manager of England and you get the feeling that it really is a case of now or never next summer. Redknapp is definitely the popular choice for the job and remains the 7/4 favourite in the Next England Manager Betting, followed by the new Sunderland boss Martin O’Neill at 11/2 and West Brom manager Roy Hodgson at 7/1. Other potential candidates include Jose Mourinho, Arsene Wenger and Alan Pardew, while Stuart Pearce is a 16/1 outsider.

Tottenham travel to Ireland tonight to play Shamrock Rovers in what is probably their last match in the Europa League. Spurs not only need a win but they need Rubin Kazan to win in Greece against PAOK Salonika and also a five goal swing on the Russians. Redknapp has made no secret of his league preference and is expected to play a much changed side to the one that lined up against Stoke last weekend. Meanwhile, the Irish champions will be gunning to bow out of the competition with at least a point in what could be manager Michael O’Neill’s last match in charge, as he is the current frontrunner in the Northern Ireland Manager Betting. Spurs are the heavy 4/9 favourites for the win, while Rovers can be found at 13/2, with a draw available at 10/3.

All odds courtesy of Stan James.

Chelsea have now not only qualified for the Champions League knockout phase for the ninth consecutive year but ensured they will avoid the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich in the next round after finishing as Gr0up E winners. A defeat would have been unthinkable as it is no secret that the coveted Champions League trophy is the one which Chelsea’s owner Roman Abramovich craves the most. The Blues will now eagerly count down the days to the draw for the last 16 on 16th December.

Despite back-to-back 3-0 wins in the space of four days, Villas-Boas still has relatively short odds of 5/1 in the Next Premier League Manager To Be Sacked Betting. The 34-year-old will now shift his focus back to the Premier League and Chelsea’s massive match with leaders Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on Monday. City are undefeated in the league this season after an excellent start which has seen them pick up an outstanding 38 points from a possible 42. Chelsea will have to be at their very best to get the three points they have been installed as the 6/4 favourites with Stan James, while City are priced at 9/4 to come away with the win, with a draw available at 23/10.

All odds supplied by Stan James.

The Portuguese manager has been heavily criticised over his inexperience at this level, with this only his second full year in club management. Meanwhile, Chelsea’s assistant manager Roberto Di Matteo has revealed that he will review his position with the club next summer. At the start of the campaign Villas-Boas rather boldly stated that Chelsea had a chance of winning four trophies. However, three-and-a-half months into the season and their prospects of winning the Premier League look slim, their Champions League progression is in doubt and on Tuesday night they were comprehensively knocked-out of the Carling Cup by Liverpool. Chelsea’s much-changed squad were completely outplayed by the Reds and worryingly their £50m British-record signing Fernando Torres was once again well below-par.

Villas-Boas has said that Chelsea now have a very important month coming up, with crunch games against the likes of Valencia, Newcastle, Man City and Tottenham. Chelsea play Valencia at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday in what is effectively a straight shoot-out, with the Blues needing a goalless draw or a win in order to advance to the next round. Judging by their recent home form they will certainly not be confident. Chelsea were a pillar of strength at Stamford bridge under former manager Jose Mourinho but have completely crimbled at home this season. Villas-Boas has called for the supporters to get behind the team next Tuesday and create a fiery atmosphere.

On Saturday Chelsea face the surprise team of the season Newcastle, who are currently one point above the Blues in fourth. Newcastle won a hard-earned point at Old Trafford last weekend and will be confident of upsetting Chelsea at the weekend. Chelsea are still the favourites however with odds of 10/11 with Paddy Power, while the Magpies can be backed at a best priced 5/2, with a draw available at 3/1.

Odds supplied by Paddy Power.

Wednesday night’s last gasp defeat to Bayer Leverkusen leaves Chelsea’s hopes of qualifying to the knock-out stages of the Champions League in the balance. With the German side now through, Chelsea face a crunch match at Stamford Bridge against Valencia, who thumped Genk 7-0 last night. A Chelsea win would see them qualify as would a goalless draw. With home advantage you would expect Chelsea to find a way through to the next round but recent results at the Bridge will make for an extremely nervy night on 6^th December.

Chelsea’s league form has also been disappointing. Three defeats in their last four matches has seen them slip to fifth, 12 points behind leaders Manchester City. The Blues have a potentially season-defining December ahead of them with important matches coming up against Newcastle, Man City and Tottenham as well as a League Cup quarter-final against Liverpool next week. Of course, it would be ridiculous if Abramovich sacked Villas-Boas, but considering the Russian’s trigger-happy record it would not come as a huge surprise. Despite their recent slump Chelsea are still in every cup competition and five months is not at all long enough for a manager to transform a squad into world beaters. However, Chelsea are a big club and their fans, players and owner expect them to be winning the majority of games in which they play and at the moment results simply are not good enough.

Chelsea will now look ahead to Saturday for what would be a confidence boosting win at home to Wolves. Chelsea have lost their last two home games, conceding seven goals in the process, so Wolves will go into the match with hope of causing a big upset. However, Mick McCarthy’s men have been struggling too and have picked up just one league win since the 21st August. Chelsea are the 1/4 favourites for the win with Paddy Power, while Wolves have long odds of 11/1, with a draw priced at 9/2.

All odds provided by Paddy Power.

It may be City’s debut in the Champions League but with the gulf of talent at the club many predicted that they would qualify from the group stages of the competition without too many problems. However, this has not been the case as lacklustre performances against Napoli and Bayern Munich have severely dampened their prospects of reaching the next round. City must now beat runaway Group A winners Bayern in their final group match and hope that Napoli get no more than a draw against rock-bottom Villarreal, who are without a point in the competition.

Although Mancini’s job is not in danger in the slightest, we all know how matters in football can change very quickly. City’s owners expect the club to make an impact in each and every competition they enter and will no doubt be very disappointed with how the team have played in Europe this season. City’s below-par European displays have been in stark contrast to their blistering league form which has seen them collect a remarkable 34 points from a possible 36, leaving them five points points clear of rivals Manchester United and nine points ahead of third place Tottenham. Their unbeaten streak will be tested this Sunday when they travel to Liverpool, with the Merseyside club full of confidence after beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Ladbrokes have City as the 7/5 favourites while Liverpool can be backed at 15/8 to inflict the first league defeat on Mancini’s team this season. Alternatively a draw is available at 23/10.

All odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.