Chelsea take on Malmo in the Europa League tonight in a game that has grown massively in importance.

Following their 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City, there are now doubts among the Stamford Bridge hierarchy to whether Maurizio Sarri can guide the Blues to a fourth-place finish with failing to do so likely to cost the Italian his job (via Telegraph).

The Breakdown

The Telegraph again reports that the Europa League may now be the only thing that can save Sarri from getting the sack with the winner of the tournament guaranteed a place in next season's Champions League.

With the likes of Arsenal, Napoli and Inter Milan still in the competition, though, at this stage, even that looks impossible for the Blues based on recent performances.

Still, should Sarri manage to lead his side to Europa League glory and secure Champions League football, it could end up changing the west London outfit forever.

The main factor behind Sarri's appointment was the club's desire to move away from a pragmatic style of football to a more adventurous one, something which the 60-year-old delivered at the San Paolo after replacing Rafael Benitez as Napoli manager.

But if Sarri is relieved of his duties at the end of the season, there is a good chance that Chelsea hire another Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte style coach and revert back to playing the football they were trying to move away from after watching their original plans completely backfire.

Should Sarri, however, win the Europa League and thus achieve Champions League qualification which should be enough to save his job, then he could end up laying down the groundworks for a more positive style of football to be played at Stamford Bridge for years to come.