Euro 2020: Slovakia vs. Spain match preview- team news, lineups

Euro 2020 enters its last round of group stage matches as

lock horns with Slovakia at the Estadio de La Cartuja Stadium.

Slovakia make the journey to Seville to take on Spain, a team that sits one point below them in the rankings.

It is Matchday 3 in Group E of the Euro 2020 tournament and both sides would advance to the knockout round with a win over the other.

Spain have been disappointing in their previous Euro fixtures, so they aim to pick up their first win at the tournament. On the other hand, Slovakia hope to overcome the three-time winners and secure a place in the knockout stages.

Stefan Tarkovic's squad suffered a 1-0 defeat to Sweden in their most recent match, while Spain’s goalless draw with Sweden was followed by a 1-1 draw against Poland.

Slovakia vs. Spain match preview

can secure their progress to the last 16 of the European Championship if they avoid defeat against Spain at the Estadio de La Cartuja.

Slovakia

After starting their Euro 2020 campaign in perfect fashion with victory over

, Slovakia were brought crashing back down to earth against a fired-up

, who leapfrogged Tarkovic's men in the standings thanks to a 1-0 win on Friday.

Emil Forsberg's confidently-dispatched penalty settled the contest, and manager Tarkovic has conceded that his side must produce a miracle against Spain to make the last 16 for the second time running.

Slovakia's fate is still in their own hands, though, as they remain one point above La Roja in second place and need only draw with Luis Enrique's men to advance to the next stage. Their opening-day victory over Poland means that they could not be caught by Paulo Sousa's men in that scenario.

With shock results being thrown up left right and center at Euro 2020, the open nature of Group E indicated that Slovakia could still advance as winners or finish rock bottom of the pile, but the former option sounds slightly far-fetched as the Spaniards will attempt to make up for their previous defeats.

Spain

A combination of wasteful Spanish finishing and heroic Polish defending saw Luis Enrique's frustrations continue at Euro 2020, as Spain attempted to compensate their goalless stalemate with Sweden by winning over Poland.

La Roja made the perfect start as Alvaro Morata's initially disallowed goal was awarded following a VAR review, but none other than Robert Lewandowski would proceed to rise highest and head home an equalizer in the 54th minute before Gerard Moreno's penalty struck the post.

Morata could not direct the follow-up from the penalty on target as Poland stood firm for the final 30 minutes at the Estadio La Cartuja, and Spain simply have to find a winning formula from somewhere lest they risk a group-stage exit at the Euros for the first time since 2004.

The stalemate with Poland did at least extend Spain's unbeaten streak across all competitions to 10 matches, but Enrique was left to rue what could have been as Spain fans prepare for a nail-biting 90 minutes on Wednesday, although La Roja could yet follow in the footsteps of

, who drew all three of their 2016 group-stage games en route to the trophy.

Form analysis

Slovakia defender

continues to spend a period of self-isolation after testing positive for coronavirus, while Ivan Schranz is expected to miss out through injury once again.

Tarkovic has no fresh concerns to work around following the defeat to Sweden, but the Slovakia boss still has a couple of dilemmas to solve in the first XI, as

seeks to displace Patrik Hrosovsky in the middle.

Lukas Haraslin could also feature on the right flank ahead of Martin Koscelnik, while Ondrej Duda is expected to continue up top despite picking up a booking on matchday two.

Slovakia possible starting lineup:

Dubravka; Pekarik, Skriniar, Satka, Hubocan; Kucka, Hromada; Haraslin, Hamsik, Mak; Duda

Sergio Busquets's positive coronavirus test changed Spain's tournament plans, but the

star is back in full training and available for the match.

It would therefore not be a surprise to see Rodri drop out after he was cautioned against Poland, as

prepares to link up with Blaugrana teammate and a man 14 years his junior in Pedri in the engine room.

Ferran Torres will eye a start after Moreno's penalty miss against Poland, but the Villarreal player boasts more goal contributions (nine - five goals and four assists) than any other player in the side since his October 2019 debut and could be trusted again.

Spain possible starting lineup: Simon; Llorente, P.Torres, Laporte, Alba; Busquets, Koke, Pedri; Moreno, Morata, Olmo

Slovakia vs. Spain - Head-to-head in all competitions

Spain and Slovakia have met on a total of six times in history. Spain are the dominant side in this fixture, claiming four wins from their six matches against Slovakia, while Slovakia have picked up just one win, while the spoils have been shared once.

Their last encounter came back in October 2015 when Spain claimed a 2-0 win in their European Championship qualification tie.

Prediction

Slovakia are not under pressure to overcome Spain in this match, as a point would be enough for Tarkovic's squad to secure a top-two spot and be a part of the elite 16.

However, the talent at the team makes it extremely difficult to back a Slovakia clean sheet, and while La Roja have not had things their own way so far, we expect good performance from them whenever it matters most and to advance to the knockout rounds.

Slovakia vs. Spain Referees

UEFA has appointed Björn Kuipers (NED) to oversee the match between Slovakia vs. Spain on Wednesday.

Sander van Roekel (NED) and Erwin Zeinstra (NED) are his assistants and Stéphanie Frappart (FRA) is the fourth official. Pol van Boekel (NED) is in charge of VAR.

Viewing information

• Date: Wednesday, June 23

• Time: 18 CET

• Location: Estadio de La Cartuja, Seville

• TV: ITV

• Odds: Spain -556; Draw +540 Slovakia +1400

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