RED DEVILS OUT TO TEST SARRI- BALL

London, Feb. 17: Maurizio Sarri will be fighting to save his job when crisis club Chelsea face Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday.

Sarri is in danger of being sacked after a dismal first season at Stamford Bridge and crashing out of the FA Cup would push the Italian closer to the axe.

Chelsea suffered their heaviest defeat for 28 years when they were thrashed 6- 0 at Manchester City last weekend, an indignity that came just weeks after a humiliating 4- 0 loss at Bournemouth.

Amid claims Sarri has lost the support of his players, the former Napoli boss held clear- the- air talks this week in a bid to convince the squad to stick with him.

It is not the first time he has challenged Chelsea’s stars after accusing them of being hard to motivate, questioning their mental strength and claiming they don’t understand even the basics of his game plan.

Sarri’s players are said to be unhappy with the Italian’s uninspiring training methods and refusal to adapt his tactics to the players he has at his disposal.

United were beaten by Chelsea in last season’s final, but much has changed at Old Trafford since May. Jose Mourinho was sacked in December and his replacement Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had overseen a remarkable turnaround as interim boss. 2