Carlo Ancelotti goes into Wednesday night's match against Chelsea with his job on the line - but why?
Real Madrid are 12 points clear at the top of La Liga while the likes of Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr and Luka Modric are all in the midst of brilliant seasons. It is a remarkable turnaround from the disaster campaign last year where Los Blancos went without a trophy.
The title is basically wrapped up as Real wrestle back control of the league after losing out to local rivals Atletico Madrid last season by two points. Zinedine Zidane's final campaign ended in tears after also crashing out of the Champions League to tonight's opponents - who also went on to win the whole thing.
For any other club, Ancelotti would be getting high praise for returning them to a position of dominance. But this is not any other club - this is Real Madrid.
As a result, the Italian - who is on course to become the first manager ever to win league titles in five countries - is likely to get the sack this summer. According to BBC Sport, his success in the Champions League is likely the only way he can stave off that reality.
Real president Florentino Perez brought the former AC Milan manager in from Everton to steady the tide after a difficult campaign last year - and there are not many better personalities to do so at the Bernabeu. And it has worked in the league but their performances have not matched the results.
Earlier this season, Real crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Athletic Bilbao - not an incredibly important competition to Perez, but one he expects his club to at least reach the latter stages of. The most recent El Clasico debacle also raised a few eyebrows - and not just on Ancelotti's brow.
Real were thrashed 4-0, which would have rankled hard at the Bernabeu HQ where Perez would have likely been seething. While the match might have lost some of its magic without the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, the passion felt on either side remains as fervent as ever.
The resurgence from Barcelona has also had an effect, their turbulent start to the season under Ronald Koeman is seen by many in Spain as the main reason why they are not competing at the top for the title. Indeed, under Xavi they have gone from battling a potential Europa League place to second.
In fact, Real's competition in La Liga has allowed them to command such a position of power. Atletico Madrid have been largely inconsistent struggling with a new style while Sevilla's lack of goals have hit them hard over the course of the campaign.
It has led to a feel in Madrid that they need some new blood in the dugout to get to grips with Barcelona's revival under Xavi and one man could be the answer. BBC Sport further report that club legend Raul is being tipped to take over due to his fine work with Real Madrid Castilla.
Perez is also desperate to find his own 'Pep Guardiola' having tried the same with Zidane and Santiago Solari - with extremely different results. Xavi's early success will be playing on the Real chief's mind when he ponders Ancelotti's dismissal this summer, no doubt.
