| SPAIN | Tournament Statistics (as of June 14, 2012) | REPUBLIC OF IRELAND | |
| 1 | Goals Scored | 1 | |
| 9 | Attempts On Target | 5 | |
| 9 | Attempts Off Target | 8 | |
| 7 | Corners | 1 | |
| 12 | Fouls Committed | 12 | |
| 3 | Yellow Cards | 1 | |
| 0 | Red Cards | 0 | |
| PREDICTED STARTING LINEUPS | |||
| Spain (4-2-3-1) | Casillas; Arbeloa, Ramos, Pique, Alba; Alonso, Busquets; Xavi, Iniesta, Silva; Torres | ||
| Ireland (4-4-2) | Given; Ward, Dunne, St Ledger, O’Shea; McGeady, Whelan, Andrews, Duff; Walters, Keane | ||
Date: June 15, 2012
Time: 2:45 AM (GMT +8:00)
GDANSK: The prospects of Group C teams have become more unpredictable after Republic of Ireland suffered a disappointing loss versus Croatia at 3-1. Spain and Italy stalled one another in a draw at 1-1, citing signals of stronger winning determination from both teams.
Spain’s duty as defending champion is to strengthen their defense in order to thwart any scoring attempt of Republic of Ireland – a feat which can determine La Roja’s defense of their championship title. Republic of Ireland, on the other hand, has to recoup from their fatal mistakes against Croatia which caused the Croat’s currently wide gap from the rest of Group C.
Previous Matches
The most recent match between Spain and Republic of Ireland was during the 2002 World Cup. The match was a closely-fought one at 1-1, only to be won by Spain via a penalty shootout.
Spain won all of their last 15 competitive games, including their 2010 World Cup championship title. They are also the champions of EURO 2008.
Republic of Ireland was unbeaten in 14 matches (both competitive and friendly). Their 3-1 loss to Croatia was their heaviest major tournament loss.
Pre-Match Developments
It is unsure whether Vicente Del Bosque will pit in Fernando Torres in Spain’s starting lineup after the striker failed to show competence during their match against Italy. Their six-man midfield against the Azzurri might be altered, although changes have yet to be announced.
Giovanni Trapattoni, on the other hand, is persistent with his current starting lineup. Despite his team’s poor performance versus Croatia, no changes have been announced on Republic of Ireland’s starters.
Spain-Republic of Ireland Predictions
Sports Statistics Information Centre
(as of June 14, 2012)
v Disclaimer: All information above is provided free for members as a 12BET service. The prediction statistics are purely a view point and there is no guarantee on the returns. Hence all members or visitors are requested to apply their prudence before acting on any of the recommendations. Neither 12BET nor any of its promoters, members, or employees holds any responsibility of any losses incurred (if any) by acting on the recommendations.
Republic of Ireland is placed at a difficult time after their focus on strengthening their defensive and counterattacking techniques have been shattered by a solid Croatia. The Irish squad lacked strikers in their roster, thus they are faced with the challenge of how to shoot the ball inside the net.
Spain, on the other hand, has to return to playing formidable possession football, which helped them gain their 2008 EURO and 2010 World Cup championship titles. Their recent match against Italy was far from resembling their usual possessiveness of the ball, which became apparent when the Azzurri treaded comfortably on La Roja’s midfield.
Overall, Spain can expect a convenient win against the Republic of Ireland, especially if they choose to become more firm in their possessive playing approach. Spain can be countered with frustrations if Republic of Ireland strengthens their defensive play for this match.
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