International friendly preview: Venezuela v Spain

World champions Spain travel to Venezuela for a friendly on Tuesday, with the city of Puerto La Cruz going into lockdown.

The impending arrival of the 2010 World Cup winners has caused a flurry in the port city, with some 7,000 police, soldiers, firemen and paramedics ready to be deployed at and around the Estadio Jose Pachencho Romero.

The sale of alcohol has been banned around the city on match day, which has been declared on official holiday in the state of Anzoategui.

The friendly is Spain’s last commitment on a quick jaunt across the Atlantic, one that began with a 4-0 drubbing of the United States on Saturday.

The world champions were simply in another class to their opponents and won convincingly, with Villarreal winger Santi Cazorla netting a sublime brace.

Pleasingly, the group also showed no signs of tension following a club campaign that saw bitter rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid face off in four El Clasico matches in 18 days.

Now, only Venezuela stands between Spain and a well-earned rest on the international scene, with nothing on the calendar until a friendly against Italy in August.

Spain coach Vincente del Bosque is expected to make some changes to his starting XI for the USA match, with maligned Chelsea striker Fernando Torres likely to be handed a start.

Torres scored the fourth and final goal at Gillette Stadium on Saturday and could find himself promoted in place of Barca’s David Villa.

Sevilla forward Alvaro Negredo – who also scored against the USA – will most likely keep his place in the starting line-up, while Athletic Bilbao defender Andoni Iraola could also find himself in the line-up after being unused in Foxborough.

For Venezuela, Malaga striker Jose Rondon will be unavailable after suffering a muscle tear in his left leg as the La Liga season neared its conclusion.