What does Remi Garde's Aston Villa departure mean for Chelsea ahead of Saturday's Villa Park trip?

Remi Garde's forgettable tenure of Aston Villa was brought to an end on Tuesday night by mutual consent ahead of Chelsea’s visit to the Midlands.

His two wins from 20 games in charge, giving him a win rate of just 10 per cent, shows just how poor Villa have been this season.

Six defeats in a row, including heavy losses at the hands of Liverpool and Man City, has clearly forced the hands of the hierarchy who felt that a change was needed.

Garde had not produced the desired effect some envisaged when he was appointed back in November.

And with the departed Frenchman out the door, who will be leading Villa into battle against the Blues on Saturday lunchtime?

Who will be in the dugout on Saturday?

Assistant manager Eric Black, who left Championship strugglers Rotherham in January, will take charge of the team for Saturday's lunchtime kick-off with Chelsea.

He began his managerial career back in 2001 with Motherwell where he stayed for a year before taking the Coventry hotseat in 2003, again just for a year.

He played assistant to Steve Bruce at both Birmingham and Sunderland before they parted ways in 2011.

Black has experienced caretaker leadership of Rotherham, Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool in the last 2 years so is accustomed to pick up the broken pieces which he will have to do again with the Blues coming to town.

What does this mean for Chelsea?

A new manager can often get the desired effect with players looking to prove themselves - just ask Chelsea.

But the doom and gloom around Villa Park means little change is expected - especially with a man so close to Garde adopting the reins for the short term.

The circus surrounding Randy Lerner and his obvious intent to sell the club is clearly manifesting itself on the pitch and the confusion around Aston Villa is clear to see.

Chelsea should see this as a simple three points provided they turn up with the right attitude.

The Holte End has experienced just the one win all the season - and that was over struggling Norwich back in February.

Recent results mean any European qualification looks unlikely but Guus Hiddink will want to ensure his side finish in a positive way and he leaves Stamford Bridge in a far better place than he found it.

Chelsea have not experienced victory in the league since March 1 but that wait should come to an end against a Villa side resigned to relegation.

Who could replace Garde?

David Moyes has been instilled as the early favourite to take over at Villa Park at 2/1. The Scotsman is still rebuilding his reputation after his failings at Old Trafford and has been out of a job since leaving Real Sociedad.

While Villa is the kind of big English club he would like to manage, the inevitable prospect of managing back in the Championship is something he may not relish, having done so with Preston in his early managerial days.

Nigel Pearson is just behind Moyes in the betting at 11/4 and has been absent from management for almost a year since leaving Leicester City last summer. M

any put Leicester's fantastic season down to the foundations that Pearson laid with little changing in the Ranieri era at the King Power.

Pearson also has an element of grit that would be required at Championship level and enjoyed promotion with Leicester back in 2014.

With wholesale changes needed in the Midlands if Villa are to make a swift return to the Premier League then Pearson could be the man to head that revival with his know how and experience.

Championship managers Mick McCarthy and Steve Bruce have both been quoted and prices of 6/1 and 12/1 respectively.

But with both Ipswich and Hull in contention for promotion both managers will be reluctant to make any decisions on their future until the end of the season so will likely stay put.