Spain will hope for a positive start in Group B of their European World Cup qualifiers as they host Greece at the Estadio Nuevo Los Carmenes. The hosts have a good home record and should make light work of the Greeks.
The Spaniards were impressive in their last fixture as they ran out 6-0 winners over Germany in the UEFA Nations League. Ferran Torres grabbed a hat-trick while Alvaro Morata, Mikel Oyarzabal and Rodri were also on target.
The former World champions appear to be returning to their best under manager Luis Enrique and have the UNL semi finals to look forward to later this year. They have suffered just one defeat in their last eight matches in all competitions.
Spain often do their best work at home where they are currently on a nine match winning run. They have kept eight clean sheets in that run having faced attacks from Ukraine, Germany and Switzerland.
Greece are coming off a 0-0 UEFA Nations League draw against Slovenia in their last outing. They lacked the cutting edge in attack and failed to make their superior possession and goalscoring opportunities count.
The major problem for Greece heading into Thursday’s clash is a lack of consistency. They have four wins in their last eight matches but have been held to 0-0 draws by Moldova and Slovenia and were also beaten 2-1 in Russia.
How the bookies view it
Spain are overwhelming favourites among the bookies with William Hill offering 1/6 for a home win. Greece are priced at 18/1 by Betfred while Paddy Power has also set a draw at odds of 6/1.
Spain have a superb home record and are expected to ease past the Greeks on Thursday.
Head to head
Spain have seven wins while Greece have been victorious just once in 10 previous matches. Both teams have battled to two stalemates but the Spaniards claimed a 2-1 victory the last time they met during the 2008 European Championships.
Players to watch
Spain will be hoping to maintain their solid defensive record at home. They will look to captain Sergio Ramos to help keep another clean sheet which is priced at 8/15 by betfair.
Greece have also gained a reputation as a defensive side and will look to Dinos Mavropanos and Kyriakos Papadopoulos to form a solid partnership at the back. Both men will be tasked with attempting to stop the Spanish attack with a clean sheet priced at 11/1 with William Hill.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Spain priced at such minimal odds to win, the handicap market could provide some value. A -2 handicap on the Spaniards is valued at 7/5 by Paddy Power while a -3 handicap is set at odds of 19/5 by Red Zone.
The Spaniards could also be backed to earn a win to nil at 8/13 by with betfair.
This World Cup match between Spain and Greece will be played on Mar 25, 2021 and kick off at 19:45. Check below for our tipsters best Spain vs Greece prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
