Preview: Spain vs. Switzerland – prediction, team news, lineups

Spain will round off theirs Group 4 in League A campaign i UEFA Nations League on Monday night, when the reigning champions, who are through to the quarterfinals, welcome Switzerland.

La Roja have already topped the section and will feature in the last eight, while Switzerland’s relegation to Liga B has been confirmed, with a disappointing campaign leaving them fourth on just two points.

Match preview

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Spain were not at their best against Denmark on Friday night, but it was another professional performance from La Roja, as goals from Mikel Oyarzabal and Ayoze Perez handed them one 2-1 success in Copenhagen.

The result then Luis de la FuenteThe team move to 13 points from five games in Group 4 of Liga A, six points ahead of second-placed Denmark with just one game remaining, but they will still want to finish on a positive note against Switzerland.

Spain have scored 10 times and conceded just twice in their five games in the section and have won each of their last four after drawing their section opener against Serbia at the start of September.

La Roja are the reigning Nations League champions, having beaten Croatia in the 2022-23 final, while they are also European champions, famously overcoming England in the final of Euro 2024.

Spain have now not lost a competitive game since March 2023 and the strength of their squad was on full display against Denmark; several players will now be hoping for opportunities to make their mark on Monday night as nothing significant is at stake for either team.

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Switzerland have never really got going in the section, losing their first three matches against Denmark, Spain and Serbia before drawing 2-2 with the former at home last month.

The A team were back in action on Friday night, drawing 1-1 with Serbia Zeki Amdouni on the score sheet for the home team in Zurich before Aleksa Terzic came up with a late equaliser.

Murat Yakin‘s team have been relegated to Liga B and are winless in all competitions since a 2-0 win over Italy in the round of 16 of the last European Championship.

Switzerland have only defeated Spain on two occasions, including a famous 1-0 win at the 2010 World Cup, while they overcame La Roja in the 2022-23 UEFA Nations League campaign.

However, Spain won 4-1 as the pair locked horns in the reverse fixture in this section, and there is no getting away from the fact that Switzerland have been under par during the 2024-25 Nations League.

Spain’s Nations League form:

Spain form (all competitions):

Switzerland Nations League form:

Switzerland form (all competitions):

Keep news

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Spain has released Martin Zubimendi, Alex Baena and Oyarzabal from their squad for this match, although the latter would have missed out regardless of suspension.

Pablo Barrios has received a call-up and the Atletico Madrid midfielder will be hoping to get the chance to make his debut.

Pau Cubarsi, Bryan Gil and Bryan Zaragoza were all left out of the squad against Denmark but are set to be available here, with head coach De la Fuente planning to make a wholesale change.

Alvaro Morata could be back at centre-forward, while Nico Williams is also expected to return to the site.

Samu Omorodion has been in excellent form for Porto this season, scoring 12 times in 13 games, and the 20-year-old is also likely to feature at some point in the competition.

As for Switzerland, head coach Yakin will make changes to the team that took to the field at the first whistle against Serbia, with Derek Kutesa, Joel Monteiro and Andi Zeqiri potentially getting into the XI.

Although there is nothing significant on offer for either side on Monday, Switzerland will want to end a poor campaign on a positive note, so e.g. Granit Xhaka and Manuel Akanji must be in the page.

Breel Embolo is the leading goalscorer in the squad with 15, but the Monaco striker could be among those dropped to the bench here as Yakin prepares to give some squad members the chance to make their mark.

Spain’s possible starting line-up:
Raya; Mingueza, Vivian, Laporte, Grimaldo; Merino, Ruiz; N Williams, Olmo, Pino; Morata

Switzerland possible starting line-up:
Cable; Fernandes, Comert, Akanji, Rodriguez; Xhaka, Freuler; Monteiro, Amdouni, Kutesa; Zeqiri

We say: Spain 2-0 Switzerland

Spain will be far from full strength on Monday, but their back-up players are also of high quality and we expect De la Fuente’s side to have too much for an out-of-form Switzerland in this Nations League competition.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, please click here.

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