Spain v Rep of Ireland: Below strength Irish side at the mercy of European Champions

11Jun 2013

Betfair

Spain's final warm up game before the Confederations Cup sees them take on an experimental Rep of Ireland side, and Daniel McDonnell feels the European Champions should record a straightforward victory...

Spain v Rep of Ireland

New York, Wednesday 1am, live on Premier Sports

Considering Spain hammered a full strength Irish side at Euro 2012, the prospect of Giovanni Trapattoni putting out a depleted team to take on the world and European champions sounds ominous.

This game is Spain's warm-up for the beginning of the Confederations Cup of the weekend, which means that Vicente del Bosque has his strongest available squad with him. By contrast, Ireland have brought a 19 player squad dominated by up and coming youngsters and fringe players who failed to get a look-in over the last fortnight. Skipper Robbie Keane will lead out an unfamiliar side.

On the plus side, it features some youngsters who should have been brought to Poland - specifically Seamus Coleman and James McCarthy - and also Derby's Jeff Hendrick who has made a big impression over the past fortnight and is being tipped for the top by both Trapattoni and Keane.

However, the worry is that the unavailability of John O'Shea, Richard Dunne and Marc Wilson has weakened the defence, with full backs Paul McShane and Stephen Kelly not playing in their favourite position, and the centre half pairing of Sean St Ledger and Darren O'Dea likely to be tested for pace. Spain, who move the ball quickly, tend to stretch teams.

They only chugged to a 2-1 win over Haiti at the weekend though and with Vicente Del Bosque intending to rotate his squad, it's worth remembering that their main priority is fitness and managing resources after a long campaign. Therefore, it would be a surprise if they went at full tilt.

Still, they should have enough to win this game relatively comfortably, and they will recall how pressing Ireland high in Poland succeeded in forcing mistakes and breaking the deadlock early.

When the First Goal market develops, it's worth keeping 0-10 Minutes and 11-20 Minutes on side, perhaps splitting stakes between both eventualities.

Surprisingly, there is some 1.86 available about Spain leading at Half Time and Full Time. That is good value and it should be trading shorter come kick-off. Anything around that mark is attractive.

In the Overs department, it is 2.52 about Over 3.5 Goals and with Spain capable of bringing in Fernando Torres and Roberto Soldado in the second half - and possibly Cesc Fabregas as well - they can cross that threshold if they lift the tempo from the Haiti encounter.

They did concede to the minnows, though, and with Keane in reasonably good form and Seamus Coleman capable of posing problems down the right side, the underdogs could succeed in hitting the target here. In the Correct Score department, the 11.5 about a 3-1 Spanish victory could be worth a nibble.