Spain welcome Sweden to Estadio La Cartuja, Seville in their blockbuster opening Group E clash of Euro 2020.
Depending on the result of Poland’s clash against Slovakia earlier in the day, victory would see Spain or Sweden go top of Group E.
Team News
Sergio Busquets is ruled out for Spain following a positive Coronavirus test, whilst Diego Llorente is still a doubt despite recording two negative tests after an initial positive test.
Luis Enrique however faces a selection headache as several stars including Thiago, Rodri and Ferran Torres chase a spot in the starting eleven.
Sweden will be without Dejan Kulusevski and Mattias Svanberg after the duo tested positive for Coronavirus.
Two familiar Premier League names in Victor Lindelof and Emil Krafth will be chasing a starting position, alongside Pontus Jansson and and Ken Sema of Brentford and Watford respectively.
Stat Attack
- Spain are unbeaten in two of their three previous meetings against Sweden in major tournaments (W2, L1), although both teams have scored four goals overall across those three meetings.
- Sweden have won just three of 14 meetings in all competitions (W3, D5, L6).
- Spain have kept just two clean sheets in five matches in 2021 (W3, D2), which came against Portugal and Lithuania in their pre-tournament warm-up friendlies.
- Sweden have scored first in each of their last seven matches in all competitions (W6, L1).
- Three of Spain’s last four goals scored in the Euros have been produced by Alvaro Morata, who is part of the current squad.
Prediction
With a much changed squad compared to the Spanish team that went to the 2018 FIFA World Cup and only four survivors from their World Cup exit match still in the squad, this is going to be a huge early test of where Spain are in their development.
It is also worth noting that Enrique has named two outright strikers in his squad in Morata and Gerard which makes me think that we could see a 4-3-3 formation, with possession based tactics which is a huge risk if Sweden come out attacking with pace.
Speaking of the Swedes, they play a classic 4-4-2 formation which should give them solidness across the pitch, although I have a feeling that we could well see some action on the flanks with players like Emil Krafth, Seb Larsson and Ken Sema ready to cause issues.
I therefore am not expecting much from this match as it feels too difficult to call but if Spain fail to gel quickly, Sweden might just nick this early on although I can see a draw coming here even if Spain need a win ahead of Saturday’s clash against Poland.
Prediction: Spain 1-1 Sweden
Result: Spain 0-0 Sweden