Manchester City are interested in two of the most high-profile coaches in Europe, with current boss Manuel Pellegrini fighting to save his job.

The Chilean manager suffered a terrible week with a poor defeat to Barcelona in the first-leg of the Champions League last-16 on Tuesday followed by a crucial defeat to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.

After that defeat at the hands of the Reds, which left City five points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea having played a game more, Pellegrini's team had to watch their rivals lift the Capital One Cup.

Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Simon Mignolet - 5 Should have done better to deny Dzeko’s goal and looked nervy from the off. Caught out of position on more than one occasion. Lucky not to concede more in the second half as several efforts went skimming by the woodwork. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Emre Can - 7 Muscular in defence. He let his teammates roam up the field knowing they were secure at the back. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Dejan Lovren - 6 Had a mixed game going up against Pablo Zabaleta. The Argentine couldn’t pick a key cross so Lovren can be pleased with his work. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Martin Skrtel - 6 Read the game well in the centre of the back-three but was asked to do too much with Liverpool’s midfielder’s so committed to the attack. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Jordan Henderson - 8 What. A. Goal. You don’t see too many of them. His powerful curling effort from 25 yards gave Joe Hart no chance. Otherwise had a decent game with some tidy passing. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Alberto Moreno - 5 Liverpool needed two long range finishes because their midfielders couldn’t pick any key passes. Moreno was off the mark more than once. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Lazar Markovic - 3 Had a really bad game on the right flank. Skewed a number of crosses off the mark and his passing was errant. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Joe Allen - 6 Won the ball back for his team and helped kick-start many of his team’s attacks. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Adam Lallana - 6 Had two finishes negated by the offside flag. Wasted a handful of opportunities. Up and down game. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Philippe Coutinho - 8 His goal was another absolute missile. Played some nice balls across the part to boot. Very good game. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Raheem Sterling - 7 Full of vim and vigour and was his usual pacey self Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Joe Hart - 4 Not a lot he, or any other goalkeeper in the world could have done much about the two Liverpool goals on the day. The reds had two more goals disallowed for offside, the day could have been much worse for Joe Hart. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Pablo Zabaleta - 6 Caught well out of position for the first goal on one of his ventures up the field. Was positive in the attack and was City’s main attacking outlet on the flanks. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Eliaquim Mangala - 5 City suffered because Liverpool had plenty of time to wind up their shots. Could have done better closing down. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Vincent Kompany - 5 Isn’t what he used to be. Doesn’t command the centre of defence like he used to. Up and down performance. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Alexandar Kolarov - 5 Powerful in defence but was mediocre going forward. Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Fernandinho - 4 Left his defence high and dry for the first goal with a sloppy back-pass. Wasn’t very effective at building attacks. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Yaya Toure - 8 His passing was lethal all day, constantly prying open the Liverpool defence with teasing deliveries. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Samir Nasri - 6 Plenty of useful link-up play from the Frenchman. On another day should have had an assist. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings David Silva - 7 Displayed plenty of nice passes in the centre and was City’s most creative player on the day. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Edin Dzeko - 7 Looked very sharp from the off and his finish was clinical. Getty Images Liverpool 2 Manchester City 1 player ratings Sergio Aguero - 7 Unlucky to be denied by the post early on and he looked sharp on the break. Provided a nice assist for Dzeko’s goal. Getty Images

Pellegrini has a three-year contract at City and while he is popular, the hierarchy are not happy at his lack of progress, especially in Europe. Last season City were dumped out of Europe at the last-16 stage and seem to be heading for the same fate this year, after struggling through the group stages.

There is also concern at the manner of the performances against Barcelona and Liverpool. Against the Catalans, Pellegrini tactics left City far too exposed, while at Anfield, Brendan Rodgers' team looked far more motivated and fresh, despite playing extra-time against Besiktas on Thursday night.

If City fail to impress against Barcelona and fail to win the league he will not remain in the job next season.

City are said to be interested in Pep Guardiola (Getty Images)

There are conflicting reports in the Daily Telegraph and Guardian this morning with the former linking Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti with the job and the latter Bayern Munich's Pep Guardiola. The two papers also say that Under-21 coach Patrick Vieira and even Rafa Benitez are being considered.

Guardiola has just 18 months left to run on his contract in Germany and has previously admitted he "sees no value" in long-term deals. Despite building one of the most dominant teams in history at Barcelona, the Spaniard only stayed in charge at the Nou Camp for four years before leaving for a new challenge.

Carlo Ancelotti is also on their radar (Getty Images)

Ancelotti is two years into a three-year deal at the Bernabeu but despite winning 'La Decima' last May and leading Los Blancos to the top of Spanish table this season, the Italian has not yet been approached over a new deal by club president Florentino Perez.

Of course, City wanting these two and actually getting them are entirely different matters; the pair represent their ideal candidates.

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Chelsea remaining PL fixtures

West Ham (a), Southampton (h), Hull (a), Stoke (h), QPR (a), Manchester United (h), Arsenal (a), Leicester (h), Crystal Palace (h), Liverpool (h), West Brom (a), Sunderland (h)

Manchester City remaining PL fixtures