The second match at Euro 2024 on Sunday comes along in the evening and it will see the former champions Spain looking to book their spot in the quarter final when they go up against the outsiders Georgia in Cologne.
Spain have breezed through the competition so far while Georgia thrilled many when they made it out of their group and have been one of the more entertaining teams to watch so we should be in for a decent contest here.
Where to watch
The match will be shown live and in full on the ITV1 channel in the UK with the build-up beginning at around 7.30pm after the England game. Kick off in Cologne is 8pm.
Spain
I think it is fair to say that the Spanish went into the tournament as one of the second tier sides in terms of potential winners but they have soon elevated themselves into the forefront of the thoughts at the end of the group stage. They absolutely cruised through a really tricky looking group on paper and while there is a genuine argument that the section wasn’t actually as strong on grass as it might have looked, we shouldn’t take anything away from Spain who won their three matches comfortably.
If there is a problem it would be that their dominance wasn’t necessarily reflected in the scores and that goes back to the overriding concern that they don’t have a prolific or clinical centre-forward. The rest of their side looks in good order though and if they continue to improve defensively it is going to take a decent ream to beat them. The problem for Spain is that there are plenty of them on the horizon given the half of the draw they have landed in.
Georgia
Whatever happens in this round of 16 contest Georgia have already won in this tournament. You could argue they had won just by being here but getting out of a tricky looking group and into the knockout stages at the first time of asking is a wonderful achievement. You never like to say they have a free hit when we are talking about a nation because you never truly know if they opportunity is going to come up again or when it will if it does.
It does mean that Georgia can give this a good go and be happy with whatever comes from it and that could make a team with an obvious threat a bit of a danger but if they are going to win this match they are going to need to ride their luck. Their goalkeeper has been the best in the tournament so far and he is going to need another night out if Georgia are to have a chance here and they have to be clinical when they get near the Spanish box.
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Team News
Spain coach Luis De La Fuente rotated pretty much his entire side for the final group match but he is going to revert back to the strongest XI at his disposal. Rodri returns from suspension to take his place in the centre of the park.
Georgia are going to be without midfielder Anzor Mekvabishvili for this match as he picked up a second yellow card in the win over Portugal last time out. Top scorer in the tournament Georges Mikautadze will be looking to extend his lead in the golden boot race.
Betting
As you would expect, Spain are plenty short enough in all the main markets so we are going to need to get creative for a value bet in this match, unless you are a fan of the upset which I just don’t see happening. Georgia have played three matches in this tournament and they have conceded 20 or more shots in all of them and you’ve got to think that a Spanish side who are much more direct and potent are going to plough a number of shots in here.
They have a shots line of 19.5 which I guess the concern is if they take the lead early but that would only force Georgia out and allow them to be picked off even more. These two were in the same qualifying group and in the first match Spain registered 32 shots and they had 19 in the second when they rested one or two with qualification in the bag. Spain have already had 20 shots in the tournament against Italy and I think they naturally reach that amount here, particularly if Georgia can remain in the hunt for as long as possible.
Tips
Back Spain – Over 19.5 shots for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Betfair
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