Prediction: Spain vs Czech Republic

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: Unibet

Spain are set to welcome the Czech Republic to La Rosaleda stadium in Malaga on Sunday, in the fourth round of the UEFA Nations League as this month’s fixtures come to a close.

Spain

Spain opened their campaign in this competition with consecutive draws, which will have come as a disappointment given the amount of quality in their ranks. They first faced Portugal at home and took the lead through Alvaro Morata, but Ricardo Horta equalized late for the visitors to snatch a point away. Then they went to Prague and had to chase the result twice against the Czechs, as Gavi cancelled out Jakub Pesek’s early opener, and Inigo Martinez struck at the death for Spain to bounce back after Jan Kuchta had restored the home side’s lead.

Spain did, however, find the way to win against Switzerland at home in the third round, when Pablo Sarabia bagged the only goal of the game played in Geneva.

Luis Enrique’s team are now in second place in League A Group 2, two points behind leaders Portugal.

Team News

Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati remains a doubt for this clash with his fitness still an issue. Hamstring and knee issues prevented the 19-year-old winger from making more than 14 appearances for his club in all competitions in 2021/22. Striker Raul De Tomas has left the team due to an infection, and it means either Morata or Ferran Torres will be leading the line upfront.

It remains to be seen whether goalkeeper Unai Simon or defender Diego Llorente remain in the team after some shaky moments in the Switzerland match, with Robert Sanchez and Eric Garcia ready to take on the two roles if called upon.

Czech Republic

Meanwhile, the Czech started the campaign well by beating Switzerland at home as Kuchta broke the deadlock and an own-goal from Djibril Sow restored their lead after Noah Okafor’s equalizer. Then they held off Spain with a 2-2 draw, but they were eventually beaten quite easily by Portugal at Sporting’s Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon. Joao Cancelo and Goncalo Guedes both hit the target in the first half to set the score at 2-0, and it remained unchanged until the final whistle.

Still, there’s no reason for Jaroslav Silhavy to be unhappy with this string of results, a feeling which will only have intensified if they manage to avoid defeat in Malaga. At the moment, the Czech Republic occupy the third place in the group with four points, one less than Spain. Switzerland remains at the bottom, having lost all three matches so far.

Team News

Midfielder Jakub Janko has been ruled out after picking up a knock in the first match against Spain and has already left the camp. Slavia’s Stanislav Tecl has been called up to fill the spot in the squad.

Tomas Vaclik could replace Jindrich Stanek in goal, while Jaroslav Zeleny is expected to start at left-back after overcoming an injury. If Silhavy feels the need to rest one of his trusted midfield duo of Tomas Soucek and Michal Sadilek, Alex Kral is the man who’ll be likely to step in.

Conclusion

Spain are the obvious favourites to win this clash and put some distance between them and the Czechs in the group table, though with the odds on that happening extremely short, it might feel more appealing to go for goals. They’re likely to be few; one might be enough to settle the contest.

Verdict: Total goals under 2.5

Best odds: 6/5

Bookmaker: Unibet