Champions League winner among favourites to replace under fire Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa

Aston Villa travel to Craven Cottage to take on newly-promoted Fulham in Premier League action on Thursday evening. Steven Gerrard’s side have won just two games in the competition all season, leaving them 17th in the table.

The Villans fell to a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea last time out and are without a win in their last three league games heading into Thursday’s clash with the Cottagers. As a result of their poor form speculation has been building as to whether Gerrard will remain in charge of the club if they don’t win against Fulham.

Gerrard has oversaw 39 games in charge of the west Midland club. He has guided them to 13 wins in all competitions, while drawing eight matches and losing 18. His team have struggled in front of goal this campaign, scoring the joint-second lowest number of goals (7) in the league.

Speaking on his future in his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, the Villa boss admitted he understands the tough situation the club is in. He said: “Every manager and coach you speak to will always talk about time, but I’m not going to hide away from anything, I want to be judged on the now as well, and I totally understand the situation we’re in and how important it is to have a positive week.”

With the pressure building on the former England international, it’s no surprise a number of managers have been linked with replacing him at Villa Park, if he is dismissed in the near future. Thursday’s result against Fulham could be the end of the line for Gerrard at the club.

Who is favourite to replace Gerrard?

As per PaddyPower, Ex-Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino is favourite to replace Gerrard at Villa Park and is priced at 8/15. He has been out of work since leaving the former mentioned club in the summer.

Current Villarreal boss Unai Emery, who once donned the dugout at Arsenal, can be backed at 5/1. The Spaniard guided the club to the Europa League last year. Meanwhile, Brentford’s Thomas Frank is at 13/2 - his side eight places above Villa in the table.

Next is Thomas Tuchel (13/2), the former Chelsea boss was dismissed by the Blues earlier in the season which caused shock across the world of football. He had a memorable tenure at Stamford Bridge, winning the Champions League four months after his arrival and the Super Cup in August 2021.

Sean Dyche, who was dismissed by Burnley at the backend of last campaign after almost 10 years in charge at Turf Moor, is priced at 16/1. The 51-year-old has been linked with several managerial vacancies since being out of work.

Other names mentioned as a potential replacement for Gerrard at Villa Park are Marcelo Bielsa, Scott Parker, Kjetil Knudsen, Ralph Hassenhuttl and Jose Mourinho. The latter would certainly be a surprise appointment given his past experience of the Premier League and recent success with current club Roma.

Tuchel temptation?

Despite Pochettino being the ‘frontrunner’ to succeed Gerrard if sacked by the west Midlands club, it could be argued that Tuchel would be the standout candidate for the role. The latter’s 16-month tenure as Chelsea boss was one that many could only dream of. He won three trophies in that period and was named UEFA Men’s Coach of the Year for his work during the 2020-21 season.

The German has been linked with several clubs since his departure from the Blues and reportedly rejected a swift return to management with Bayer Leverkusen in his homeland, according to Sport1. This shows Tuchel isn’t content to take any available role and would need some convincing if he were to replace Gerrard at Villa Park.