Julen Lopetegui: 'Real Madrid are alive'

Real Madrid boss Julen Lopetegui has warned Viktoria Plzen that his team are fully charged to end their recent poor run at the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

Los Blancos have lost four of their last five matches in all competitions, and there is intense pressure on the European champions to return to winning ways in the Champions League this week.

Lopetegui had been tipped to lose his job following Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Levante, but the Spaniard remains at the helm and has sent out a strong message ahead of the clash with Czech champions Plzen.

"The team is alive and we are excited for the game tomorrow," Lopetegui told reporters. "This is a strong squad, it is full of champions and serial winners, that does not come about by chance and champions stand up in difficult moments.

"The DNA of this club is to fight and to battle, which we will do both as players and a coaching team, we know we need to improve. I am not paying attention to what is being reported, my job is to prepare my team for the next game and that is what I am doing.

"We are focusing on the present and we are completely motivated to prove what we are capable of and that recent results are not reflective. We go day to day and not beyond that."

Madrid will visit Spanish champions Barcelona in La Liga on Sunday afternoon.