MADRID, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui faces the first of three games in a week which could well decide his future at the club when his side entertains Levante in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Saturday.
Real Madrid entertain the side from Valencia after a disastrous run of results which has seen them fail to score a goal in their last four matches.
It has been over 650 minutes of football since Madrid's last goal, which came when Marco Asensio netted a 41st minute winner in a 1-0 win at home to Espanyol on September 22nd, and since then, Lopetegui's side has failed to score against Sevilla, Atletico Madrid, CSKA Moscow and Deportivo Alaves, losing three of those four matches.
The 1-0 defeat to Alaves on the eve of the international break led to widespread rumors that Lopetegui was on the verge of losing his job. Although he survived the two-week break without domestic football (often seen as the best time to make a change in the dugout), the rumors over his future won't go away.
The Spanish press has been openly speculating in recent days over his possible substitute, with former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte appearing to be the frontrunner.
A change in results over the coming week is probably the only way for Lopetegui to save his position. He will be able to welcome back left-back Marcelo, attacking midfielder Isco and striker Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema back into the side after they have been struggling with various physical problems over the past weeks.
The Madrid fans will expect an easy win against a rival who have won their last two matches, but also conceded 6 against Sevilla in a recent home game, while Levante will set themselves up to frustrate Madrid and use the pace of Jose Luis Morales (rejected by Madrid as an 11 year-old) to hit them on the break.
A win against Levante will set Real Madrid up for their straightforward looking Champions League match at home to Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday, before they travel to the Camp Nou to face Barcelona the following Sunday.
Wins against Levante and Plzen will mean Lopetegui is still in charge against Barcelona, but a failure to win and convince on Saturday could see next weekend's press conference given in Italian.
