On Friday, September 13, the National team of Spain host their English counterparts in an International Friendly match. The game will be played at the Estadio Jose Rico Perez in the city of Alicante and will kick off at 20:45 BST.
The hosts are currently ranked 6th on the latest FIFA World rankings, while their English opponents are ranked 9th. Both teams finished top of their Euro 2016 qualifying sections, Spain winning group C with 27 points, while England won group E with an impressive ten wins from ten.
These teams have met twenty three times in the past, but Spain has had the upper hand recently, winning five of their seven most recent games.
La Roja, currently managed by Vicente del Bosque are in immaculate form, winning all five of their most recent games, all of which were Euro 2016 qualification matches. This impressive run includes victories against Belarus (0-1 on June 16), Slovakia (2-0 on September 5), FYR Macedonia (0-1 on September 8), Luxembourg (4-0 on October 9), and Ukraine (0-1 on October 12).
The Three Lions, managed by Roy Hodgson, are also in pristine form, with a similar record of five victories in their five most recent games. These wins were against Slovenia (2-3 on June 14), San Marino (0-6 on September 5), Switzerland (2-0 on September 8), Estonia (2-0 on October 9), and Lithuania (0-3 on October 12).
With Iniesta and Silva out injured, and the likes of Cesc Fabregas struggling for form, the younger midfielders like Isco and Thiago Alcantara will be hoping to use this game remind their manager of their talents.
Ross Barkley has been in good form recently, both for England and for Everton, and he will be looking to show he has what it takes against some of the most accomplished ministers in the world.
The odds for this game from Bet 365 are 7/10 for a Spain win, 13/5 for a draw and 4/1 for an England win.
This is a friendly game, and as thus it is difficult to predict what calibre of players each team will put out. Spain in general has the higher calibre of players, and will be playing in front of their home fans. I see this game ending in a low scoring victory for the Spanish.