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Football is a global game followed by billions from all corners of the globe, and psychological affiliations with clubs around the world means that there is always interest in how their favorite teams are faring.
Football is a big business now, and as with any other business, it is all about results. Results are so far reaching in football that it is the deciding factor in important things such as who wins titles and more mundane ones like which teams get to sign better players.
This high emphasis on results put coaches under intense pressure, as they are the most dispensable members of the personnel when results go south, and it is a way of life for managers, with it being joked that coaches always have their bags packed at all times because the dreaded sack letter could come anytime.
Advancements in communication due to social media means that fans now follow their clubs much easily, and have access to air on the spot views about underperformances, and this puts coaches under more pressure, as fans opinions have a major say when decisions about clubs are made.
As with any other season, there are clubs who have struggled this term, as they have failed to meet expectations had at the beginning of the season, and unsurprisingly, this has rubbed off on the manager's status, with the majority of them having ultimatums to change the tide or get replaced. Here are six coaches whose jobs could potentially be on the line heading into this weekend:
#6 Ernesto Valverde
Ernesto Valverde was appointed as Barcelona manager in the summer of 2017 after his impressive performance in the Athletic Bilbao dugout for four seasons, and the 54-year-old remarkably won the double of La Liga and Copa Del Rey in his debut season. He almost guided Barcelona to become the first team to finish an entire 38-game La Liga season unbeaten but for a shock 5-4 thrilling defeat at Levante on the penultimate weekend.
The club, however, faltered on the stage where they want to excel the most, throwing away a 4-1 first-leg advantage to lose 3-0 to AS Roma and get knocked out at the quarter-final stage of the UCL for the third consecutive season.
After beginning this season impressively, Barcelona faced a rough patch towards the end of last month, enduring a four-match winless run in La Liga which included a 2-1 loss to relegation-threatened and then bottom-placed Leganes.
Results have improved considerably in recent weeks, as Valverde has made tactical changes with the introduction of Arthur into the starting lineup, and the Brazilian has gone on to earn rave reviews.
Even though Barcelona's fortunes have changed positively, particularly in the Champions League and the 4-2 victory over Sevilla at Camp Nou lifted the Blaugrana back into top spot in the league, losing an El Clasico is never an acceptable proposition for Barcelona fans, and the match this weekend against Real Madrid would carry extra significance on Valverde's career, as a loss would put the Spaniard back under pressure.
#5 Rafael Benitez
Rafael Benitez was one of the highest rated coaches in the middle to end of the last decade, helping Valencia to two La Liga titles in 2002 and 2004 as well as the UEFA Cup in 2004, before going on to lead Liverpool to her fifth UEFA Champions League title and first since 1985 in what has been termed 'The miracle of Istanbul'.
He went on to manage Inter Milan, Chelsea and Napoli to relative success, before having his capabilities severely questioned after performing horribly at Real Madrid despite having three of the five most expensive players of all time at his disposal.
He was sacked unceremoniously by Real Madrid but was appointed by a struggling Newcastle in 2016 with a bumper contract. However, despite his best efforts, the Magpies still got relegated.
Benitez rallied Newcastle to achieve promotion back almost immediately, romping their way to the Championship top spot.
Their first season back in the Premier League did not go too smoothly, as ownership troubles in Mike Ashley trying to sell the club affected stability, but Benitez still persevered, guiding the club to avoid relegation as many feared, and finishing the season in 10th position.
The club was expected to build on this impressive performance, but ownership issues have still persisted, and Benitez was not given the backing he sought in the market.
Newcastle sits at the bottom of the Premier League table, winless in their opening nine matches marking their worst start ever to a Premier League campaign, and ahead of this weekend's clash with Southampton, the 58-year-old has been installed as the third most likely Premier League manager to be sacked first by bookmakers.
#4 Niko Kovac
Niko Kovac was appointed as Bayern Munich manager in the summer following the departure of Jupp Heynckes after his impressive work at Eintracht Frankfurt with whom he defeated Bayern Munich in the final of the DFB Pokal last season.
His tenure as Bayern boss got off to a routine 5-0 victory in the Super Cup over his former club, and it was expected that it was the beginning of good things to follow.
However, three months into the season and things have gone horribly against the script. After kicking off the season with six straight victories in all competitions, Bayern suffered a slump in form at the start of the month, failing to win in four consecutive matches with a 3-0 home loss to Monchengladbach proving too much for the fans to bear.
A press conference was called by the board, and the 47-year-old was given a public vote of confidence by key members of the board amid rumors of an impending sack.
Results have picked up since then, as the Bavarians have won two consecutive matches, but the club's characteristic dominance of the Bundesliga means that the current 4th place occupied by the club is one not acceptable to Bayern, and Kovac could find his future once more in speculation if he fails to mastermind a victory away to Mainz 05.
#3 Marcelino Garcia
Valencia were one of the stronger Spanish clubs in the last decade, reaching consecutive UCL finals in 2000 and 2001, as well as winning the Spanish League twice, UEFA Cup and Copa Del Rey among other titles.
The club, however, descended into mediocrity in recent years, struggling for consistency and revolving managers with 15 managers including Gary Neville, Cesare Prandelli, Ernesto Valverde and Nuno Espirito Santo coming in through Mestalla in just five years between the departure of Unai Emery in 2012 and the arrival of Marcelino in 2017.
The club flirted with relegation a lot of times and made a mockery of the heights the team had reached just some years ago. The arrival of Marcelino helped steady the ship, as the 53-year-old had shown his abilities with Villareal, and immediately transformed Los Che's fortunes, helping the club to a 4th-place finish in just his first season three points behind Real Madrid/.
This season, however, results have been hard to come by, and Valencia finds themselves in 14th place with just one win from nine matches. Los Che are yet to win at home in La Liga, posting five draws, and failure to get a victory in their trip to San Mames would undoubtedly put serious question marks over Marcelino's future as Valencia boss.
#2 Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho is one of the greatest coaches of all time, underlying this with a well-furbished CV with multiple titles won across different leagues.
It was for this reputation that most Manchester United fans expressed optimism after his appointment, as they saw him to be the man to move the club forward after the decline the club experienced in the years following Fergie's departure.
He began his first season impressively enough, winning two major titles, despite performing poorly in the league, and many expected the next year to go better, with his second season achievements flouted in the faces of detractors.
As it happened, despite relative improvements, the season still ended in disappointment, as the Red Devils finished in second place, a whopping 19 points behind runaway leaders Manchester City, and got eliminated in the round of 16 by Sevilla.
This season has gone even worse, as, under Mourinho, United have lost three of its first seven league matches, marking United's worst start to a Premier League season in its illustrious history.
Negativity surrounds the club, as news of dressing room upheavals and speculation over Mou's future dominating the news stories, with player-manager clashes being the order of the day, headlines by his long-standing runoff with Pogba and more recently Valencia. With the effect being that the 55-year-old has been installed as the favorite to be the EPL manager sacked first by bookmakers.
Jose Mourinho has failed to fully win United fans over in his two-year tenure so far, as many feel that his pragmatic style of play goes against the club's history. Also, a poor return in results only serves to add more pressure on him, which would only be exacerbated if victory is not achieved at home to United.
#1 Julen Lopetegui
Undoubtedly the manager under the most pressure in all of Europe now. Lopetegui agreed to swim with Sharks when he accepted the offer the offer to be Real Madrid's coach in the summer in acrimonious circumstances which led to his dismissal as Spain boss.
He must have been thrilled at the prospect of coaching players who had won the Champions League in each of the last three seasons respectively, but as results have shown him, coaching a mega club is easier said than done.
Under the 53-year-old, Los Blancos have struggled for form and consistency, failing to win in four consecutive matches, and enduring their worst run in front of goal since 1985 when they failed to find the back of the net for over 865 minutes (eight hours).
Even though both records have been halted with a victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League, the manner in which the win was achieved coupled with the fact that Real find themselves in 7th place on the La Liga table has done nothing to ease the pressure on Lopetegui. Reports are emanating that he has a one-match ultimatum against Barcelona to save his job.
Real Madrid is the most notoriously volatile managerial job in the world, with coaches fired for much less than this, and it would not be out of reason for Lopetegui to find himself out of a job less than five months after accepting it.
