Spain will be looking to put an important three points on the board when they play their second group match at this summer's European Championship against Poland on Saturday night.

Luis Enrique's side opened their Group E challenge with a goalless draw against Sweden on Monday, while Poland suffered a 2-1 loss to Slovakia, which has placed them in a tough spot ahead of this match.

Match preview

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Spain will feel that they had enough chances to beat Sweden in their Group E opener on Monday night, but Enrique's team found opposition goalkeeper Robin Olsen in impressive form.

Alvaro Morata missed a guilt-edged chance in the first half of the contest, meanwhile, and there were certainly encouraging signs from La Roja despite the relatively disappointing nature of the result.

Spain cannot be confirmed in the top two or eliminated after matchday two, but a win over Poland would place them in a strong position heading into their final group game against a talented Slovakia on June 23.

La Roja are bidding to win a fourth European Championship, which would make them the most successful team in the history of the competition; as it stands, they are level on three trophies with Germany, having triumphed in the 1964, 2008 and 2012 editions of the tournament.

Spain's preparations for Euro 2020 were far from ideal due to Sergio Busquets's positive coronavirus test, but the national team have now had time to settle after a turbulent build-up, and they simply cannot be written off at this level despite struggling at the 2014 World Cup, Euro 2016 and 2018 World Cup.

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Poland would have fancied their chances of opening their Group E challenge with a positive result on Monday evening, but Slovakia recorded a 2-1 victory in Russia to leave Paulo Sousa's side in a tough spot.

As it stands, they are bottom of the section and will be watching closely at what happens between Sweden and Slovakia when the two teams meet in the same group on Friday afternoon.

Poland's recent form has been disappointing, winning just one of their last eight matches in all competitions, including underwhelming draws with Russia and Iceland in their two pre-tournament friendlies.

The White and Reds know what it takes to advance to the latter stages of this competition, having been present in the quarter-finals at Euro 2016, and they will not be panicking as third position in Group E could be enough to see them book their spot in the first knockout round.

Poland have only won one of their previous 10 international games with Spain, though, losing eight times in the process, including a 6-0 defeat when the two nations last locked horns in June 2010.

Team News

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Spain will again be without the services of captain Busquets through coronavirus, but there is a chance that the Barcelona midfielder could return for the nation's final group game against Slovakia.

La Roja have no other concerns heading into the contest, and it will be fascinating to see whether Enrique decides to make changes from the goalless draw with Spain.

Morata seemingly has the full support of his manager, so should keep his spot in the final third of the field, but there might be a change in the middle of the park with Thiago Alcantara potentially replacing Pedri.

Gerard Moreno is also pushing for a spot in the starting XI, but it is likely that Enrique will again name Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres in the wide areas despite the number of options available in that area of the field.

As for Poland, there will have to be at least one change from the side that faced Slovakia, as Grzegorz Krychowiak is suspended due to the red card that he picked up in the second period.

Jakub Moder could be the player to come into the starting XI, although there is also the option of dropping Piotr Zielinski into a deeper area and handing a start to Karol Swiderski in the final third of the field.

There will once again be pressure on Robert Lewandowski to find the back of the net, with the Bayern Munich striker going in search of his 67th goal at international level, and the fact that he has scored 59 goals more than anyone else in the squad is an indication of how much they rely on him.

Spain possible starting lineup:
Simon; M Llorente, Laporte, P Torres, Alba; Koke, Rodri, Thiago; F Torres, Morata, Olmo

Poland possible starting lineup:
Szczesny; Bereszynski, Glik, Bednarek; Jozwiak, Klich, Moder, Linetty, Rybus; Zielinski, Lewandowski

We say: Spain 1-0 Poland

Poland's result against Slovakia potentially makes them even more dangerous for Spain, who have a lot to prove this summer; we are expecting a tight match between two sides that struggled going forward in their opening group matches but believe that Spain will emerge victorious in Seville.

Written by
Matt Law

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