Spain v England - Preview and possible lineups

Andrew McAlister 6 years ago 1.1k |

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Rodrigo scored the winner last time out. AFP

We take a look ahead to Monday's UEFA Nations League match between Spain and England at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in Seville.

TEAM NEWS

Spain: Luis Enrique's side thrashed Wales on Thursday without a full-strength side, so Thiago, Marco Asensio and Sergio Busquets could all come back into the team. Bundesliga top-scorer Paco Alcácer and Valencia's Rodrigo could be preferred once more to Diego Costa up front.

England: John Stones and Jordan Henderson are both suspended for the game after picking up bookings against Croatia, while the likes of Jadon Sancho and James Maddison will be looking for make their full international debut. Joe Gomez will come in to replace Stones.

Enrique: "It's very nice to visit Seville. It's always a special game with the fans behind us. That's what we need tomorrow. The more support we can have, the better. We are happy to be here. Victory will give us mathematical qualification for the play-offs. Our goal is to win the game and be superior, but England are a team that do things right. Set-pieces are one of England's virtues. We have to be attentive and make sure we give them as few chances as possible. I like Southgate as a coach. They always try to play the ball. He's adapted to his players, something we all have to do. I followed him and I like the way he plays football."

Southgate: "It's an opportunity to look at a couple of younger players and we are slowly building a squad of players capable at the highest level. It's good that we've got options because different teams pose different tactical problems. We knew we needed to get tight to Croatia's midfield and [Monday] is very similar. But Spain have a slightly different style. We know their technical ability, but we've got to cause them problems too. At Wembley we got more comfortable with their style and in the last 30 minutes we were the dominant team. We can't come here to defend for 90 minutes. They've got a new coach who's a top coach and you can see the difference he's tried to make. They're a little bit more direct with speed in the front three. Although the style and the philosophy is very similar, it's tactically a little different and in that final third it's a little more of a direct threat. We've got to be prepared for that. It's as difficult a test as you could have in world football, but we're ready."

FORM