EUROPE: Euro
Date: 03-07-21
Time: 8:00 PM
Venue: Stadio Olimpico (Rome)
Spain return to the Estadio Olímpico de Sevilla after a goalless Euro 2020 opener vs Sweden which saw them dominate possession, and will now hope for better as they take on Poland in a competitive H2H for the first time since 1959. In turn, Luis Enrique’s men made it two scoring blanks in three fixtures, the same amount they’d suffered in their previous 51 matches!
Despite their perceived ‘false start’, Spain are unbeaten in 14 internationals on home soil, returning an impressive 2.93 goals per fixture on average and taking 11 clean sheets. Furthermore, they haven’t failed to score in back-to-back fixtures since the 2013 FIFA Confederations Cup, and boast an excellent H2H record vs Poland (W8, D1, L1).
Poland were shocked by hard-working Slovakia in their Group E opener, and consequently the ‘Eagles’ have now won just two of their 12 matches at the European Championships (W2, D6, L4). Equally, the visitors can’t afford to fall behind here in Seville either, considering that they failed to score more than one goal in any of those 12 fixtures.
Another loss here would make it very difficult for Poland to replicate their Euro 2016 quarter-final appearance, whilst a record of just one win from their previous five away games offers little additional hope (W1, D1, L3). That said, the visitors’ sole H2H victory did arrive on Spanish soil (Nov 1980), whilst they also finished third at the Spain-held 1982 World Cup.
Players to watch: Boasting a win rate of 71.43% from internationals as first goalscorer, Álvaro Morata has scored three of Spain’s last four goals at the Euros. Meanwhile, opposing striker Robert Lewandowski has a point to prove, after scoring with just two of his 35 shots for Poland at major tournaments, and last netting against a nation currently in FIFA’s top ten back in October 2016.
Recent Stats:
- Ukraine’s form in last 5 matches: DLWLW.
- England’s form in last 5 matches: WWDWW.
PREDICTION: Away and Over 1.5
