Two European heavyweights will lock horns in World Cup Group E on Sunday night, as Spain and Germany do battle at Al-Bayt Stadium.
Spain find themselves at the top of Group E after thrashing Costa Rica 7-0 in their opening match. Meanwhile, Germany sit third after suffering a shock 2-1 defeat to Japan.
Can the Spaniards maintain their lead at the summit of the group? Or will the Germans bounce back from their surprise loss? Let’s take a closer look at both sides.
To say that Spain dominated their World Cup opener would be a massive understatement. Not only did they enjoy 82% possession, but they also racked up 17 shots.
Ferran Torres bagged a brace against Costa Rica, with Dani Olmo, Marco Asensio, Gavi, Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata completing the scoring.
La Roja have now lost just one of their ten games in 2022, picking up seven wins and two draws along the way.
Having won five of their previous six games across all competitions – keeping four clean sheets in the process – Spain will be confident of downing Germany.
Like Spain, Germany dominated their opening game – recording 74% possession and 26 shots. However, they threw away their lead to lose against Japan.
Ilkay Gundogan put his country ahead from the penalty spot on 33 minutes, but second-half goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano stunned the four-time world champions.
Germany have only managed to win three of their ten games in 2022, registering five draws and three defeats in the process.
It is also worth noting that Hansi Flick’s side have only managed to keep one clean sheet in their previous nine outings across all competitions.
Head-to-head: The all-time H2H record between Spain and Germany is tight, with Spain claiming eight wins and Germany claiming nine wins. There have also been eight draws.
Spain and Germany last met in the Nations League back in November 2020. Remarkably, the Spaniards hammered the Germans 6-0 on that occasion.
Team news: Dani Carvajal missed Spain’s opener with flu. Meanwhile, Alvaro Morata started on the bench. Both players will be hoping to start on Sunday.
As for Germany, Leroy Sane missed the defeat to Japan due to a knee injury. If Sane remains unfit, Thomas Muller will likely start against Spain.
Regardless of what happened during the first round of fixtures, Sunday’s clash is destined to be a close-fought battle between two top sides.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Spain and Germany will play out a low-scoring draw – with both sides netting under 1.5 goals.
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