Emilio Butragueno Says Julen Lopetegui Will Keep Real Madrid Job for Clasico

Real Madrid director Emilio Butragueno has said manager Julen Lopetegui will remain in charge for Sunday's Clasico showdown with Barcelona despite rumours about an imminent exit. 

Following an awful run of recent form, speculation has been swirling about the coach's position ahead of the huge clash this coming weekend in La Liga.

But following Los Blancos' unconvincing 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, Butragueno said Lopetegui isn't going anywhere for now, per Marca.

"Yes, as normal," he said when asked if Lopetegui would be in charge at the Camp Nou on Sunday. "We need to prepare for this match well and keep calm. Sunday is a match that brings extra motivation. We're living through this normally. This is football. We hear rumours, but we are going to the Camp Nou with confidence, and I hope we have a good game."

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According to Sid Lowe of the Guardian, while it's unclear when Madrid will axe Lopetegui, a decision has been made that he will lose his job, despite the fact he was only appointed as successor to Zinedine Zidane in the summer.

After a bright start the team have struggled in 2018-19, with the shock 2-1 loss to Levante on Saturday leaving them in sixth position in La Liga.

Per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN FC, at the moment the European champions are something of a laughing stock:

If Lopetegui does get his marching orders following the Clasico he will be left to lament a challenging spell in his coaching career.

He agreed to become Madrid manager in the build up to the FIFA World Cup when he was still in charge of Spain. That clearly angered those in charge of the national team, and Lopetegui was sensationally sacked on the eve of the tournament.

Given he now appears on the brink at the Bernabeu, Lopetegui's reputation as a manager, while healthy ahead of the summer showpiece in Russia, is now set to be in tatters. 

The Spanish Football Podcast commented on how downbeat he appeared despite the win on Tuesday:

Spanish football journalist Guillem Balague believes that despite the poor form, Madrid are only lacking a goalscorer to be a competitive force once again:

Since selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus in the summer that edge has been missing in goalscoring positions, and if Lopetegui is going to pull himself back from this challenging position it's imperative some players find their shooting boots again.

That must start on Sunday at Barcelona, where a win is surely needed to prevent Lopetegui getting the boot. While Real Madrid have been poor lately, their chances of a positive result have been boosted by the fact that Lionel Messi will miss the game after fracturing his arm against Sevilla.