With speculation surrounding Bayern Munich boss Pep Guardiola in regards to his future with the German club, “clarity” may finally come about next week.

German network ARD spoke with the former Barcelona manager after Tuesday’s 1-0 victory against Darmstadt in the DFB-Pokal competition, and Guardiola said about his future, “Tonight, I have no answer. Next week, you will know the answer.”

Guardiola went on to say, “Next week there will be clarity.”

The possibility of Guardiola leaving seems quite reasonable, especially after former Bayern coach Ottmar Hitzfeld recently planted the seed that the 44-year-old has already begun packing for an endeavor at English Premier League side Manchester City. German legend Franz Beckenbauer has also suggested the possibility of Guardiola traveling to Manchester, but instead replacing Louis Van Gaal at Manchester United.

Guardiola, who enjoyed a long and successful professional career with Barcelona, managed the Catalonia side for five seasons. He then took the reigns in Munich in January 2013 after approximately six months on sabbatical, and has since captured two Bundesliga titles, the DFB-Pokal, the Club World Cup and the UEFA Super Cup.

INTER ADVANCE TO COPPA ITALIA QUARTERFINALS

Cup action was in full swing on Tuesday, and Inter Milan became one of two clubs to punch its ticket into the Coppa Italia quarterfinals after notching a 3-0 win against Cagliari.

Argentine Rodrigo Palacio opened the home team’s account in the 24th minute with a tap-in finish. The opportunity occurred after forward Rey Manaj dummied the ball, leaving Palacio with the easy goal-scoring chance.

Two second-half goals from Marcelo Brozovic and Ivan Perisic eased Inter into victory over their Serie B opponents. Milan currently sits atop the Serie A table with 36 points, while Fiorentina and Napoli follow close behind with 32 points each. Defending league champions Juventus trail by six points and occupy the division’s fourth spot.

In addition to Inter Milan, Alessandria captured a thrilling 2-1 victory over top-flight side Genoa. The third tier Italian club shocked their opponent just one minute into the second half, before agonizingly conceding in second half stoppage time via Leonardo Pavoletti. The two teams were forced into 30 additional minutes of action, but it was David and Goliath moment when Riccardo Bocalon secured the winner in the 114th minute of play for Alessandria.

MARTINEZ: EVERTON WON’T HAVE JANUARY DEPARTURES

Everton manager Roberto Martinez has made it crystal clear that he doesn’t want any of his players leaving during the middle of the season, and he reiterated that sentiment on Tuesday.

“It doesn’t matter if a club comes in. We created a squad during the summer to see how far we could go over the season. January doesn’t come into consideration,” Martinez said.

The Toffees currently sit in 10th place in the English Premier League, trailing league leaders Leicester City by 11 points.

While Martinez didn’t mention any specific player of his, defender John Stones has continued to gain notice from clubs, particularly Chelsea. Despite the Blues’ best efforts over the summer, Everton declined multiple bids for the 21-year-old.

The Everton boss continued by saying, “January is a window to solve problems with players who are not featuring as often as they feel they should, or to bring in players from a lower league to give them an opportunity.”

PLAYERS NEED TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY, SAYS FABREGAS

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho called out his players following Monday’s 2-1 away defeat against Leicester City, and today one of the side’s leaders responded with similar remarks.

Mourinho expressed that “his work was betrayed” after the Blues suffered their ninth loss of the campaign, third most in the Premier League.

Fabregas did take responsibility for the club’s run of poor form, telling Sky Sports, “We will all have to take responsibility. If you are a big player and paid like a big player, you must play like a big player and behave like a big player.”

“I am not saying you can’t have a bad season and bad games. We all have big players and small players, but the attitude must be spot on. We must always be at the top of our games, even when it’s not and not the behavior that we are seeing right now from every Chelsea player.”

The London-based side will face 19th-place Sunderland on Saturday, a must-win game for two clubs that are in the dead heat of the league’s relegation battle.

Here are some of today’s results:

GERMAN DFB POKAL

Unterhaching 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Borussia Monchengladbach 4-3 Werder Bremen

Bayern Munich 1-0 Darmstadt 98

Heidenheimer SB 2-0 FC Erzgiberge Aue

SPANISH COPA DEL REY

Deportivo La Coruña 1-1 (3-2 on aggregate) Llagostera

Sporting Gijón 3-3 (3-5 on aggregate) Real Betis

Espanyol 2-1 (3-2 on aggregate) Levante

Sevilla 2-0 (5-0 on aggregate) UD Logroñés

ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP

Queens Park Rangers 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

ENGLISH FA CUP

Hartlepool United 2-0 Salford City

FRENCH COUPE DE LA LIGUE

Rennes 1-3 Toulouse