Manuel Pellegrini has 12 matches to save his Manchester City job

Manuel Pellegrini has the final 12 matches of Manchester City's season to save his job, with the manager needing to defend the Premier League title or win the Champions League, otherwise Pep Guardiola will be approached as his replacement.

Pellegrini is a popular figure at City, and so the hierarchy would be reluctant to remove him. However, given City’s unconvincing display in the Champions League and a Premier League campaign in which they will be eight points behind Chelsea if the leaders win their game in hand, a prevailing view is that Pellegrini has failed to improve the team.

When Ferran Soriano sacked Roberto Mancini after he oversaw a dismal championship defence in the 2012-13 season the chief executive stated the reason was because there was minimal evidence of the side evolving under the Italian.

City trail Barcelona 2-1 in the Champions League last 16. In the first leg Pellegrini’s tactical limitations were shown up for a second successive year against the Catalan club. His insistence on always playing in an attacking mode meant he fielded a 4-4-2 formation and City were overrun.

In Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at Liverpool Pellegrini persevered with the two-striker system and saw City beaten by Brendan Rodgers’s side.

When replacing Mancini in the summer of 2013 Pellegrini signed a three-year deal and, despite winning the title and English Cup last season, fresh terms have yet to be offered.

Guardiola will also have a year remaining in the close season but the former Barcelona coach could well prefer to stay at Bayern Munich. However given his seemingly difficult relationship with some key people at the club, City would be keen to discuss any vacant position with him.

Too pragmatic

While Atletico Madrid’s

Diego Simeone

is not a candidate as the Argentinian is viewed as being too pragmatic in style,

Rafael Benitez

is also on the radar. The Napoli coach could be available in the summer and while he is not known for producing the dazzling football Guardiola’s teams play he led Liverpool to the 2005 Champions League and another final two years later.

Txiki Begiristain, City’s sporting director, and Soriano will also have appraisals at the end of the season. Begiristain may be asked to explain a transfer strategy that, since he began working with Pellegrini, has failed to enhance the squad apart from the addition of Martin Demichelis. Until Wilfried Bony’s £25 million arrival last month, 10 major signings had been recruited at a cost of £149.9 million. Guardian Service