Euro 2016 Qualifier preview: Spain v Slovakia

Euro 2016

Football
Published: 05/09/2015

Group C - Saturday, September 5

19.45pm - Estadio Carlos Tartiere

On Saturday night in the Asturian capital of Oviedo, the once all-conquering Spanish team will face the side that ended their eight-year unbeaten run in tournament qualification last October.

From invincible to vulnerable

A late goal from Miroslav Stoch not only secured all three points in that 2-1 victory, but it also shattered Spain’s increasingly-fragile cloak of invincibility. Ever since that loss, the reigning European Champions have remained unconvincing and now sit in second place in Group C with Euro 2016 qualification far from certain.

Back in April, La Furia Roja scraped to a 1-0 win over Ukraine in Seville before winning their June away game in Belarus by the same score line. With just three points separating Vicente del Bosque’s men from the Ukrainians in third place, Spain’s position remains precarious and the next two qualifying games could prove to be vital.

Meanwhile, Jan Kozak’s Slovakian team sit unbeaten on top of the group knowing that a win against Spain would give them a great chance of dining at the top table next summer.

Team news

Spain will be boosted by the return of Juan Mata and Diego Costa but will have to make do without the injured Alvaro Morata. Meanwhile, Juan Bernat of Bayern Munich has been called up to the squad while Barcelona’s Aleix Vidal has been left out. Despite this week’s ridiculous transfer saga, Manchester United goal keeper David de Gea has also been included along with Chelsea’s new signing Pedro Rodriguez.

Slovakia will be without their Captain Martin Skrtel who - along with Milan midfielder Juraj Kucka - will be missing through suspension after accumulating an excess of yellow cards. Meanwhile, Jan Durica and Vladimir Weiss will both be absent through injury. The Spanish conundrum

Vicente del Bosque has batted off criticism about his team’s recent poor performances with talk of experimentation and rebuilding. However, it is still unclear if he is sure in what direction he wants to take this team. Despite Diego Costa often appearing like a square peg in a round hole, the Coach insists on shoe-horning into the side whenever he is fit.

The Spanish public still crave the tiki-taka style of football that brought them so much success in recent times and many are losing patience with the 64-year-old who seems to be stubborn in his quest to find a new formula.

Betting view

Despite the questions marks surrounding Spain, they are still heavy favourites going into this clash. In fact, the bookies have them priced at 1/4 to beat the Slovakians on Saturday. This makes the 21/4 available for a draw with bet365 look like great value. When you consider the fact that Slovakia have won 12 of their last 13 matches, the away win also looks like a tempting outside bet at 14/1 (also with bet365).

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Any odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of publishing (05/09/2015) but are subject to change.

05/09/2015     © Frixo 2024

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