Preview:Spain vs Bulgaria - prediction, team news, lineups

Spain will look to maintain their perfect record in World Cup 2026 qualifying when they welcome Bulgaria to the Estadio Jose Zorrilla in Valladolid on Tuesday.

La Roja are leading Group E with nine points to their name, while Bulgaria are pointless at the bottom of the standings at the halfway point of the qualifying campaign.

Match preview

Spain have responded impressively to their penalty-shootout defeat in June's UEFA Nations League final against Iberian rivals Portugal.

La Roja returned to action with a dominant 3-0 away win over Bulgaria in their opening World Cup qualifier, before they thrashed Turkey 6-0 in their second outing of the September international window.

Luis de la Fuente's side extended their perfect start to World Cup qualifying with a 2-0 victory over Georgia in Saturday's outing at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero in Elche.

Yeremy Pino and Mikel Oyarzabal scored either side of a saved Ferran Torres penalty to score at least twice in 10 consecutive games for the fourth time in history.

Having taken maximum points from their first three matches, the group leaders are three points clear of Turkey and six points better off than Georgia, putting them in a strong position to qualify for a 13th consecutive World Cup.

The world's highest-ranked team will be confident about their chances of adding three more points to their tally, especially as they have won five of their previous six meetings with Bulgaria, including a narrow 1-0 friendly victory in their last home encounter back in Granada in November 2002.

There may still be three qualifying games to play, but it seems as though Bulgaria are already out of the running for their first World Cup appearance since 1998.

Bulgaria lost both of their opening two qualifiers against Spain and Georgia by a 3-0 scoreline, leading to the departure of Ilian Iliev after nearly two years at the helm.

Iliev's successor Aleksandar Dimitrov made a forgettable start to his tenure with a heavy 6-1 defeat in Saturday's home clash against Turkey.

The game appeared to be finely poised at one goal apiece at half time, before Dimitrov's charges shipped five goals in a disastrous second period, leaving them bottom of Group E and six points adrift of Turkey in second position.

The Lions have now gone eight matches without a win since claiming a narrow 1-0 away victory over Luxembourg in last November's Nations League meeting (D2, L6).

Bulgaria will now be bracing themselves for another difficult outing in Tuesday's clash with the European champions, especially as they have conceded at least two goals in each of their previous seven matches.

Spain World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

W W W

Spain form (all competitions):

W W L W W W

Bulgaria World Cup Qualifying - Europe form:

L L L

Bulgaria form (all competitions):

L D L L L L

Team News

Dean Huijsen, Rodri, Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal all pulled out of the Spain squad before the win over Georgia due to various injury concerns.

Ferran Torres has since become the latest player to withdraw from the squad, with Alex Baena among the candidates to replace the Barcelona forward in the starting lineup.

Oyarzabal will be looking to continue his goalscoring form for his country, having netted six goals in his last eight international appearances.

As for Bulgaria, they are unable to call upon defender Emil Tsenov, who withdrew from the squad prior to the defeat to Turkey.

Kristian Dimitrov could come into the backline to form a central-defensive partnership with Rosen Bozhinov, while Ivan Turitsov is pushing to start at right-back in Valladolid.

Attacker Kiril Despodov should don the captain's armband once again after making his first international appearance since March in Saturday's home outing.

Spain possible starting lineup:

Simon; Porro, Le Normand, Cubarsi, Cucurella; Merino, Zubimendi, Pedri; Pino, Baena, Oyarzabal

Bulgaria possible starting lineup:

Mitov; Turitsov, Dimitrov, Bozhinov, Petrov; Chochev, Stoyanov, Kraev; Petkov, Kirilov, Despodov

We say: Spain 4-0 Bulgaria

Spain have won their opening three qualifiers by a combined 11-0 scoreline, and we think that they will flex their muscles again in Tuesday's clash against a struggling Bulgaria side who will find it difficult to contend with the constant pressure that the hosts will throw at them.

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