Barysaw (Belarus), June 13 (IANS) Spain coach Vicente del Bosque will turn to his strongest starting 11 as his side takes on Belarus in its European Championship qualifying tie at the Borisov Arena here on Sunday.
Although Spain had few problems beating Belarus at home earlier in the campaign, their rivals are likely to provide tougher opposition on their home soil and with a trip to Ukraine, lying ahead of them, the reigning European champions cannot afford to drop any silly points, reports Xinhua.
The Spanish have 12 points from five matches with only a defeat against Slovakia blotting their copybook and lie in second place in their qualifying group.
Del Bosque played an experimental 11 and was pleased with the performance of his side in Thursday’s 2-1 win against Costa Rica, however, he will want to see his strikers take their chances against Belarus.
Alvaro Morata looks almost certain to lead the Spain attack with the Juventus forward in excellent form as the season comes to an end.
There is no Andres Iniesta who is out through injury, but David Silva, who was a constant threat after coming on during Thursday’s game, should provide spark, while Isco and Santi Cazorla also have a chance of starting.
The defence will see Sergio Ramos and Gerard Pique side by side with Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba as full backs with a license to range forward.
Sergio Busquets will take on the midfield holding role while Cesc Fabrigas, who scored on Thursday will also start in the midfield.
The mission for the Spanish is simple, to keep the ball and work the Belarus side in order to create chances.
If Del Bosque’s men are at their best then another three points to take them to within arm’s length of qualifying for France next summer should be in the bag.