Speculation has risen over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City future. Guardiola, who replaced Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager in 2016, is going through the worst period of his tenure so far, winning just one of their last 12 matches and picking up four points from a possible 24 in the Premier League.

While sacking Guardiola appears to be out of the question, there is a chance that Guardiola could walk away from the job. When he left Barcelona in 2014, Guardiola suggested that the time was right to move on despite the success he achieved at Camp Nou - and a similar trend could be occurring at City.

"We were incredibly successful," he said at the time. "But gradually I found it more and more difficult to motivate myself and to motivate the team. That is when you know it is time to walk away."

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If Guardiola does decide to resign, there will be a knock-on effect to the rest of the Premier League, including Chelsea. football.london has taken a look at what it could mean for the Blues below.

New Chelsea expectation

Should Guardiola leave, then City could have a major drop off in fortunes - and that would boost Chelsea's chances of finishing in the Champions League or going on to win the Premier League title. City have been the dominant force in English football for the last decade, there is no doubt about that, and a lot of that has been down to Guardiola and how he has transformed City into a winning machine.

But Guardiola's potential departure could open the door for other teams, such as Chelsea, to go on and relish in some success themselves. It does feel that alongside Liverpool and Arsenal, the Blues are the best placed to challenge for honours right now, and therefore comes expectation with that.

Maresca pressure

Having been dubbed as a 'Guardiola disciple' after working with the Spaniard at City, Maresca might have some added pressure to follow in his footsteps and win the Premier League. Chelsea have certainly added to the pressure on Guardiola's shoulders this season given their fine run of form.

With Guardiola, there was an expectation that City were going to win everything in their path, but if he does leave then Maresca might be able to scoop up some honours in his absence.