Arbeloa: I won't burn my Real Madrid players at the stake

Alvaro Arbeloa has come to the defence of his Real Madrid after a chaotic week at the club, with the head coach insisting he will not "burn my players at the stake".

Ahead of the Clasico on Sunday, Alvaro Carreras and Kylian Mbappe were both criticised for their attitude, before Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni took centre stage.

The two midfielders were involved in a bust-up at the training ground, resulting in Valverde suffering a head injury after a fall, while both players were reportedly fined €500,000 for their actions.

Arbeloa will take charge of his first game against Barcelona as Madrid manager in any competition.

Only four Los Blancos coaches have debuted with a victory in the Clasico in an away match at Barcelona: Jose Quirante in 1929 (1-2), Carlos Queiroz in 2003 (1-2), Bernd Schuster in 2007 (0-1) and Zinedine Zidane in 2016 (1-2).

Barca can win the league title if they avoid defeat against Madrid, and Arbeloa insisted his full focus is now on the match.

"The two players have expressed regret, they've admitted their mistakes, they've accepted the consequences, and they've apologised," said Arbeloa.

"That's enough for me. I won't burn my players at the stake. They don't deserve it, neither of them.

"Valverde and Tchouameni are two players who represent well what Real Madrid is. They deserve an opportunity to keep fighting for this club.

"I'm very proud of them. I won't allow all this to be taken advantage of to doubt my players' professionalism."

"We must turn the page, learn, and continue on the path of Real Madrid, never forgetting that there is a Barcelona-Real Madrid match."

Madrid have won eight of their last 12 LaLiga meetings with Barcelona (L4), as many victories as they managed in their previous 32 Clasico encounters in the competition (W8 D7 L17).

None of the last 12 league encounters have ended in a draw, the longest run without a stalemate in the Clasico in the competition since a streak of 18 matches between 1977 and 1986 (10 Madrid wins, eight Barcelona wins).