Euro 2020 enters its last round of group stage matches as Spain lock horns with Slovakia at the Estadio de La Cartuja Stadium on Wednesday. Spain have been disappointing so far and will aim to pick up their first win at the tournament. A win against Slovakia will send them through to the Euro 2020 knockout stages. Slovakia will look to upset the three-time winners and secure a place in the knockout stages.
Spain
Spain had been expected to breeze through a group full of tenacity but relatively low on quality. Luis Enrique’s men now face a real fight. This match would be a defining moment in their Euro journey. The saving grace for Spain is that they know victory on Wednesday in Seville will take them through to the knockouts. A draw would see them finish third, but that result coupled with a Poland win over Sweden would mean an early exit.
Tactics
The midfield lacks versatility. The struggled to feed the attackers or break forward themselves. Neither the starters nor subs caused problems to Poland. Spain suffered greatly from this in the middle of the park in both matches so far in EURO 2020. Jordi Alba stood out against Poland. His performance lacked the defensive coefficient. The surface at Estadio de La Cartuja do them no favors.
Spain head into the game with a full-strength squad and no injury concerns. Sergio Busquets was sorely missed in Spain’s first two games due to testing positive for Covid-19. He is set to return here. Cesar Azpilicueta has not played so far. There is clamour for him to return to provide leadership and allow Marcos Llorente, who has been playing at right-back, to resume his usual attacking role. Morata proved Enrique right when the manager exclaimed he trusts the Juventus striker.
Predicted XI
4-3-3 : Unai Simon; Jordi Alba, Pau Torres, Aymeric Laporte, Marcos Llorente; Rodri, Sergio Busquets, Koke; Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Gerard Moreno.
Slovakia
They are the weakest team on paper in their group. But they have held their own so far. Slovakia have managed just two wins from their last eight games across all competitions; picking up four draws and losing on two occasions. With three points from two games, they currently occupy second place in Group E, one point ahead of their Spanish counterparts and one point behind group leaders Sweden.
Tactics
Slovakia suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Sweden after a blistering start to the Euros. Robert Mak has been lively on the left flank. Marek Hamsikhas the quality to produce a moment of magic which could cause problems for Spain. They are defensively vulnerable since veteran Martin Ṧkrtel is not available. Nonetheless Milan Škriniar has been colossal at the back.
Slovakia will be without the services of forward Ivan Schranz, who is sidelined through injury. Denis Vavro will also miss the game after testing positive for COVID-19.
Predicted XI
4-2-3-1: Martin Dúbravka; Peter Pekarík, Ľubomír Šatka, Milan Škriniar, Tomáš Hubočan; Juraj Kucka, Jakub Hromada; Lukáš Haraslín, Marek Hamšík, Róbert Mak; Ondrej Duda
