On Tuesday, Spain will be bidding to take one step closer to winning the European Championship for a fourth time, which would make them the most successful nation in the competition's history.

Ahead of what is sure to be an absorbing semi-final encounter with old rivals Italy - who they beat in the 2012 final, but lost to in France five years ago - a tired Spain squad have more concerns over fatigue than any serious injury problems.

Centre-back Aymeric Laporte trained separately from the main group at the weekend, working briefly in the gym rather than taking to the pitch at Madrid's Ciudad del Futbol complex.

The Manchester City man is the only Spanish player to have featured in every minute of the Euro 2020 campaign so far, with back-to-back periods of extra-time apparently taking their toll on several squad members.

Nonetheless, Laporte should be ready to start in his new position on the right side of the central-defensive pair, a move made by coach Luis Enrique to incorporate fellow left-footer Pau Torres into the team. Though Barcelona new boy Eric Garcia is a more natural right-sided option, Enrique is expected to retain his current duo at the heart of a four-man defence; flanked by the experienced heads of Jordi Alba and Cesar Azpilicueta.

Only Paris Saint-Germain winger Pablo Sarabia is a significant doubt due to injury, as the 29-year-old suffered a thigh strain in the first half of Friday's quarter-final victory over Switzerland, after scoring and assisting twice during the two previous games.

Though the former Sevilla forward struggled on until the half-time break, he was forced to withdraw and could now be set to see group stage starter Dani Olmo regain his place instead.

A noted problem for a slick-passing, possession-based side has been converting chances - despite La Roja having reached a healthy tally of 12 goals already this summer - as neither first-choice striker Alvaro Morata nor alternative option Gerard Moreno have been reliable penalty-box poachers thus far.

Ferran Torres is most likely to keep his role as part of the front three, alongside Olmo and Morata, though Mikel Oyarzabal has featured regularly from the bench and is an outside contender to earn a rare start.

Spain possible starting lineup: Simon; Azpilicueta, Laporte, Torres, Alba; Koke, Busquets, Pedri; Torres, Morata, Olmo

> Click here to see how Italy could line up for Tuesday's semi-final clash

Written by
Jonathan O'Shea