THE quarter-finals of Euro 2024 are upon us and the biggest match of the round will kick things off when Spain face Germany in Stuttgart on Friday evening.
The match puts together the two best-performing teams of the tournament in a match that many people were hoping would be the final. Despite it being merely a quarter-final, the team that comes out on top will feel as if a huge hurdle has been navigated on their path to glory.
To reach this stage, Spain came from behind to dismantle a spirited Georgia 4-1 while Germany dispatched Denmark 2-0 in a confident display.
There isn't much to split the two teams which means crowd support could be a factor. Can the Stuttgart crowd roar Germany on to victory?
How the bookies view it: Spain go in as slight favourites
Spain are the slight favourites for this quarter-final, thanks to their impressive showing at Euro 2024 thus far. They are the only team to have four wins from four games and they are priced at 8/5 with Betfred with Betfred to make it five in five. Germany are priced at 9/5 to come out on top inside 90 minutes while the draw is 11/5.
Recent head-to-head: Neck and neck
The overall Spain vs Germany H2H record makes for fascinating reading. After 26 matches played, Germany have won nine times, Spain have won eight and nine have ended all square. The recent record doesn't make a case for either team – three of the last four have ended level which suggests extra time is on the cards on Friday.
Players to watch: A midfield battle for the ages
This is a truly star-studded affair with big names all over the pitch. The most fascinating battle will come in midfield when Rodri will come head-to-head with his former Man City teammate, Ilkay Gundogan.
Gundogan has been operating in the attacking midfield role for Germany at Euro 2024 so will be occupying similar spaces to Rodri, who is widely regarded as the best-holding midfield in world football. Whoever comes out on top in this battle could go a long way to deciding the winner of the match.
In attacking areas, two of the brightest young talents in the world will be on show. At the age of 21, Jamal Musiala is staking his claim as the best young player in the world with three goals in four matches from the left wing
Meanwhile, Spain's Lamine Yamal may well be the most complete 16-year-old that has ever played the game.
Predicted lineups
There's no reason for Spain to change anything given the success they have had against Georgia. The only potential change would be to bring Real Madrid's Nacho back into the fold in defence after he recovered from a foot injury.
Calls for Niclas Fullkrug to start for Germany persist but Kai Havertz is expected to continue up front. Florian Wirtz could also return to the starting XI at the expense of Leroy Sane while Jonathan Tah is available again after serving his suspension.
Spain: Simon – Carvajal, Nacho, Laporte, Cucurella – Rodri, Pedri, Ruiz – Yamal, Morata, Williams
Germany: Neuer – Kimmich, Rudiger, Tah, Raum – Kroos, Andrich – Wirtz, Gundogan, Musiala – Havertz
Anything else catch the eye?
Only one of Germany's matches at Euro 2024 has seen more than two goals scored – their opening 5-1 victory over Scotland. Spain's matches haven't been much more high-scoring, with just two of their four games seeing three or more goals. Under 2.5 goals is priced at 8/11 with Betfred.
Betfred boosted odds for Spain v Germany
If you're looking for price boosts, Betfred offers a few of those for Spain v Germany.
Two of them are for the Anytime Goalscorer market, with the first being for Alvaro Morata to score anytime (including extra time), which is priced at 5/2 right now, moving up from previous odds of 2/1. The second one is for Niclas Fullkrug to score anytime (including extra time), which moved up to 3/1 from 5/2.
There is also the #PickYourPunt Builder Boosts, which offers a couple of bet builders that were boosted a bit:
- Each Team 5+ Shots On Target & Each Team 20+ Booking Points: 6/1>>7/1
- Jamal Musiala & Nico Williams 1+ Shots On Target Each & Marc Cucurella To Be Carded: 17/2>>10/1
For these bet builders, keep in mind that yellow cards are worth 10 booking points and red cards are worth 25 booking points.
This Euro 2024 match between Spain and Germany will be played on Jul 5, 2024 and kick off at 17:00. Check below for our tipsters best Spain vs Germany prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
Can’t see past Spain winning the Euros, this will be their toughest test, plain sailing after this.
This should have been the final.