Spain need a win against Turkey at the Allianz Riviera Stadium in Nice on Friday to book a place in the last 16 of Euro 2016. Spain has never lost to Turkey in the last 52 years and they will want to keep that record intact when the two teams meet in the Group D encounter.
Spain did start their Euro 2016 with a win over Czech Republic, but one must not forget, they were not clinical in their performance. Therefore, a defeat against Turkey would awaken the ghosts of the 2014 World Cup, in which they were knocked out after the group stages.
Spain manager Vicente Del Bosque will want to secure nothing but three points from this match. Therefore, he is expected to tinker a little with his team combination.
Aritz Aduriz may be preferred over Alvaro Morata, whose place in the playing XI is under threat. The Juventus striker was below par against the Czech Republic in the first game.
Thiago Alcantara may also sneak into the playing XI as he has had a wonderful season with Bayern Munich and if given a chance, the midfielder will want to showcase his talent in this Group D clash of Euro 2016 against Turkey, who lost their previous game against Croatia by just a solitary goal.
Turkey will not want to board an early flight from France, and to avoid that, they will have to play better football against the defending champions on Friday.
However, Turkey may be without Mehmet Topal, who is currently nursing a leg injury and Gokhan Gonul, who has a stomach virus. It is unsure if these two players will be available for selection against Spain on Friday.
Their star player from Barcelona, Arda Turan, need to step up to the show. His performance has been under the scanner and this is now or never for Turkey. Therefore, Turkey will need more from their star man.
Expected starting XI: Spain: De Gea; Juanfran, Pique, Ramos, Alba; Busquets; Silva, Thiago, Iniesta, Nolito; Aduriz.
Turkey: Volkan Babacan; Gokhan Gonul, Semih Kaya, Hakan Balta, Caner Erkin; Mehmet Topal, Selcuk Inan, Oguzhan Ozyakup; Volkan Sen, Hakan Calhanoglu, Arda Turan.
