Slovakia vs. Spain Predictions: Spain to squeak through

Spain need to win to qualify for the knockout stages of Euro 2020 but does Neil Monnery think they can put their disappointing campaign behind them...?

Location: Seville, Spain

Date: Wednesday, June 23

Kick Off Time: 12PM ET

TV: ESPN

Spain, Spain, Spain. What has happened to one of the great teams of the modern era? Well, to be blunt their golden generation have either all retired or are unavailable for this tournament with injury. Only Sergio Basquets is in the squad who you’d link to the great teams that won World Cup 2010 and Euro 2012. They try to play the same style but without any of the star quality that previously adorned those red shirts.

Two games into Euro 2020 and the Spanish are missing an identity. A lackluster 0-0 tie with Sweden was followed up with a 1-1 tie with Poland leaving them to require victory on the last day to assure themselves of progression. This is not what was expected coming into this competition considering their lack of strength in their group.

For their opponents on Wednesday however, the doom and gloom is nowhere to be seen. A surprise win against Poland (albeit against ten men for the majority of the second half) opened up a real path out of the group stage. They followed that up with a late loss to Sweden. They were 13 minutes away from a draw that would have put them into the knockout stage and would’ve sparked joyous scenes across the country.

Three points is likely not going to be enough to get through as a best third-place group finisher so they’ll need to get a point here, something that is quite the uphill task. Even with a Spanish side struggling, they are extremely heavy favorites with the Sportsbooks to get over the line and grab the victory in this one.

The best price on Spain is -450 with William Hill in New Jersey. I’m not remotely touching that market.

Picks: Spain/Spain however is a very nice +150 in the Half-Time/Full-Time market with William Hill in New Jersey. I don’t think Spain blitz Slovakia but a goal in the first half and holding on to win 1-0 or 2-0 would not surprise me one jot.

Tough to find another prop bet I like in this game. I don’t expect an abundance of goals so I’m not even going to play the anytime scorer markets.