Sweden v Spain: Match preview

Sweden will be up against it in their second Group D natch today with Spain in Innsbruck. Sweden are likely to recall Kim Kallstrom to the side with the injured Christian Wilhelmsson out of the tournament. Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be looking to add to his goal tally after that wonderful strike against Greece on Tuesday. Larsson’s presence will also be a bonus for Swden but is unlikely to play a full 90 minutes after playing a full game on Tuesday.  Sweden will try to keep it tight in the first few minutes but should gradually come out of their shells as the match progresses but may look to hit Spain on the counter attack at any opportunity.

Spain are likely to be unchanged from the team that comprehensively beat Russia  four days ag. The Torres/Villa partnership will look to exploit the againg legs of Olof Mellberg with their pace. Torres’ disagreement from the last game when he seemed to ingore the hand of coach Luis Aragones when he was substituted looks to have been settled so the mood in camp should be hungry for the task of Sweden today. Holland have set the bar for performances with another outstanding effort last night against the French so Spain will look to better that as they did against Russia.

Prediction: Sweden to battle hard but Spain to be too strong for them. Sweden could give Puyol and co. some trouble at the back with the link=up but they should have the measure of an experienced side: SWEDEN 1-3 SPAIN