City Boss Pep Guardiola Could ‘Leave Manchester City This Week’ After Man Utd Loss – And his replacement has been shortlisted this morning

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City endured what can only be characterized as one of their most lackluster and dispiriting performances in recent memory during their trip to Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon, where they succumbed to a comprehensive 2-0 defeat at the hands of Michael Carrick’s resurgent Manchester United. In the aftermath of this dismal showing, veteran broadcaster Richard Keys has made a sensational and eyebrow-raising claim about Guardiola’s future at the club in his post-match commentary.

The red half of this football-obsessed metropolis successfully reclaimed local bragging rights at the Theatre of Dreams, avenging their humiliating 3-0 loss from earlier in the campaign. Second-half goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Patrick Dorgu proved decisive, securing a dominant victory for the home side and leaving their city rivals in disarray.

**Key Statistics from GIVEMESPORT:** Erling Haaland is currently enduring a troubling seven-game streak without finding the net from open play across all competitions—representing the longest such barren run the prolific Norwegian striker has experienced while representing a club in Europe’s elite top-five leagues.

The two-goal deficit, however, painted a somewhat flattering picture for the visitors, who appeared completely out of rhythm and devoid of ideas from the opening whistle to the final blow. Guardiola, the tactical mastermind who has orchestrated six league triumphs since departing Bayern Munich for the blue half of Manchester in 2016, found himself utterly unable to coax a cohesive performance from his expensively assembled ensemble of talent. The result saw City surrender three crucial points in what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested 2025/26 Premier League title race.

**Keys Delivers Bombshell Prediction About Guardiola Following Manchester United’s 2-0 Triumph Over Manchester City**

This damaging defeat to their bitter cross-city adversaries now leaves City perilously positioned in the standings, with Aston Villa poised to leapfrog them in the table should they secure victory in their Sunday encounter with Everton. More alarmingly, any lingering hopes of capturing the championship crown come May have been dealt another crushing blow, particularly given that Arsenal have now established a commanding and seemingly unassailable lead at the division’s summit.

Last season’s trophy-less campaign represented completely unfamiliar and uncomfortable territory for Guardiola and his star-studded squad. Should the current campaign follow a similar trajectory and conclude without silverware, serious questions could emerge regarding the longevity of the celebrated Catalan manager’s tenure—especially considering his recent substantial £65 million investment in the acquisition of Antoine Semenyo.

While Guardiola committed his immediate future to the club by signing a new two-year contract extension in November 2024, which theoretically keeps him at the helm until the summer of 2027, the recent and somewhat unexpected dismissal of Enzo Maresca has inevitably sparked widespread speculation about whether the Spanish tactician will actually see out the full duration of that deal if the current alarming slide in form continues unabated.

Speaking during beIN Sports’ extensive post-match analysis of the Manchester Derby, Keys dropped an absolute bombshell by suggesting that Guardiola may not even be in charge for City’s next Premier League fixture—a home encounter against Wolverhampton Wanderers scheduled for January 24 at the Etihad Stadium.

“I think it’s absolutely nailed on certain [that Guardiola will be] gone by the end of the season, but… do not rule out—and if it happens, remember where you heard it first—do not rule out the possibility of him walking away this very week,” Keys declared emphatically.

“This week! And should he depart this week, [Enzo] Maresca will be at the helm for the Wolves match next week. City will be absolutely apoplectic, as I’ve previously stated. They’ll vehemently deny it, of course, but it’s weighing heavily on his mind, I’m telling you with absolute conviction. The idea of leaving this week is genuinely on his mind.”

“Enough is enough,” interjected his long-time broadcasting partner, Andy Gray, before Keys elaborated further: “He’s gone at the end of the season anyway, that’s essentially a foregone conclusion at this point. Finished! And then I firmly believe [Vincent] Kompany comes prominently into the frame as his successor. If he departs this week, however, [it would be] Maresca taking the reins immediately.”

As the old saying goes: all wonderful things must inevitably come to an end, and Guardiola, despite his unquestionable status as one of the greatest managerial minds in football history, appears to have lost that ineffable quality and tactical brilliance that once enabled him to guide his teams to championship after championship with seeming ease—a reality that was painfully evident last season when Liverpool cruised to the title with four matches still remaining. This day of reckoning, as painful and difficult as it may be to accept for City supporters, was always going to arrive eventually.

Maresca, who was recently replaced by Liam Rosenior at Stamford Bridge following a turbulent spell, is reportedly positioned extremely high on the club’s carefully curated list of potential successors to Guardiola. His deep-rooted affinity and connection to Manchester City—having worked at the club across two separate spells, including one period directly under Guardiola’s tutelage—could work tremendously in the club hierarchy’s favor should they decide to appoint the tactically astute Italian sooner rather than later.

According to GIVEMESPORT Senior Football Correspondent Ben Jacobs, the 45-year-old’s decision to part ways with Chelsea came immediately following his side’s frustrating 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on December 30. Notably, he declined to fulfill his customary media obligations afterward as he carefully weighed up his options and contemplated his next career move.