Julen Lopetegui Can't Confirm He'll Be Real Madrid Boss for Sunday's El Clasico

Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui couldn't guarantee he'll be Real Madrid manager for Sunday's El Clasico clash against Barcelona, as the club looks to end its five-game winless streak against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday. 

Los Blancos host Czech outfit Plzen in the UEFA Champions League, following on from Saturday's 2-1 home defeat to Levante. When asked at a press conference on Monday if he expected to be in charge for Sunday's trip to the Camp Nou, Lopetegui replied: "I can't confirm any more than now. I am sat here. We are concentrated on the present and on what happens today."

The loss to Levante sparked a new wave of speculation in the Spanish press, with suggestions the former Spain coach could be fired from his role this week.

Real sit seventh in La Liga and are without a win in four domestic outings after Lopetegui initially started his tenure at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu with a six-match unbeaten streak.

The sense after Saturday's disappointment was that the writing is on the wall for the Real chief, as seemed to be the presumption on Monday, per ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan:

Lopetegui was also ambiguous in his response to a question suggesting the game against Plzen could be his last in charge of Real: "We have a game tomorrow that motivates us to the maximum and we are going to give it our greatest energy."

The consolation goal Marcelo scored against Levante was Real's first in 481 minutes of football and brought to an end the longest wait for a goal in Real's existence, per Eurosport's Tom Adams: 

It's been a sudden change for Real and Lopetegui over the past month, having initially shown positive signs with the new tactician that they could overcome the losses of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane.

Marca (h/t Sport Witness) gave an update as to which managers are in the frame to step into Lopetegui's place should he be sacked, with Castilla academy coach Santiago Solari understood to be the favourite:

Former Juventus and Chelsea manager Antonio Conte could be a problematic target, however, after The Independent's Miguel Delaney wrote that the Italian wants more than a one-year contract. Real are understood to have Tottenham Hotspur chief Mauricio Pochettino in mind as a longer-term leader.

A sterling performance against Plzen could help stem the tide, but even Lopetegui can't say if he'll be Real Madrid manager come Sunday, when Barcelona will hope to capitalise on the mayhem in Madrid.