Maurizio Sarri has appealed to Chelsea’s fans not to turn against his players in the game that could decide his fate as head coach.

Chelsea entertain Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Wednesday night with Sarri’s future and the club’s top-four hopes on the line.

Sarri has refused to offer Kepa Arrizabalaga any guarantees that he will start against Spurs, despite the goalkeeper’s apology for refusing to be substituted in the Carabao Cup final, for which he was fined £190,000.

Kepa’s behaviour angered some Chelsea supporters, who have been expressing their dissatisfaction recently, booing midfielder Jorginho in the previous game at Stamford Bridge, against Malmo in the Europa League, and singing “F--- Sarri-ball” in the FA Cup defeat by Manchester United.

Jorginho missed a penalty in the shoot-out defeat by Manchester City on Sunday and Sarri admitted his players need the fans on their side against Tottenham.

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Chelsea occupy sixth place in the table, three points behind Arsenal and two back from United. A victory over Spurs would revive their Champions League qualification hopes and boost Sarri’s hopes of hanging on to his job. Asked about the mutinous Stamford Bridge atmosphere against United, Sarri said: “I was disappointed for my players. Only for my players.

“But I think I can understand the fans, of course. I can understand, because they are used to winning. Now we have a difficult moment, but I’d like to see more support for my players, not for me.”

Sarri insisted there is no bad blood with Kepa, but would not confirm whether the Spaniard or Willy Caballero, who was due to go on against City at Wembley, would start against Tottenham.

Asked if Kepa would start, Sarri said: “I don’t know. I have to decide. Maybe yes. Maybe no.

“I have to decide for my group. Not with my group. I want to send a message to my group. The message could be Kepa is on the pitch, or Kepa is out the pitch. I have to decide what is better for my group.”

On Kepa’s frame of mind, Sarri said: “He made a mistake. A big mistake. There are some consequences. If the consequence is to play, he has to be ready to play. If the consequence is the bench, he has to be ready to go to the bench.”

Caballero was understood to be annoyed by Kepa’s behaviour and the fact he was denied an appearance for the penalties, but Sarri has no worries over the Argentine’s mentality. “I think Willy is a very good goalkeeper and he’s a great man,” Sarri said. “He is a point of reference in the dressing room, of course, for his personality. For his behaviour. He has the maturity to be ready for everything.”

Despite pressure on his position, Sarri insisted his relationship with the club has not changed in recent weeks, as Chelsea have been thrashed by City in the league, knocked out of the FA Cup and lost the Carabao Cup final.

“I spoke with Marina [Granovskaia, Chelsea director] this week, before the final, just for good luck,” said Sarri. “I spoke to Marina after the match about the Kepa situation. We spoke about the Kepa reaction, only about this. My relationship with the club is like before.”

Sarri’s fate may also rest partly on whether or not Chelsea would be able to convince Steve Holland and the Football Association to allow him to combine his job as Gareth Southgate’s assistant with a caretaker role at Stamford Bridge until the end of the season.

Apart from doubts over his own position, Sarri has been working against the backdrop of uncertainty over owner Roman Abramovich’s commitment, fears over Eden Hazard’s future and a Fifa transfer ban that the club are appealing against.

But Sarri said: “There is only one difficulty, the results. The atmosphere in the training ground is now really very good. The application of the players is better than before. The problem now is to have results with consistency.”

Asked for the first time about the club’s two-window transfer ban, Sarri said: “I don’t know very well the situation, but I know the club are working. So I think they can solve this problem. Maybe for this summer, maybe not.”

Chelsea have warned that any anti-Semitic behaviour in the Spurs game will be punished and have issued phone numbers and email addresses for witnesses to report any abuse.