The quarterfinals of the Euros kick-off on Friday as two of the tournament favourites, Spain and Germany, lock horns in Stuttgart.
An 18th-minute own goal by centre-back Robin Le Normand saw Spain concede their first goal of the Euros in their round of 16 tie with Georgia on Sunday and an impressive-looking Germany could inflict more pain on their back line when they meet in Friday’s quarterfinal.
La Roja bounced back from that early setback to thrash minnows Georgia 4-1 and make it four wins from four in the tournament, and their performances so far have seen them move to second-favourites to be crowned European champions for a record fourth time.
They have the second-best attacking record and the best expected goals record, with eight goals scored from 8.8 expected goals. The only other team that comes close to their output is Germany, who have scored a tournament-high 10 goals from a second-best 7.7 expected goals.
This hints at a potentially exciting clash between these two European superpowers and goals from both sides can be expected.
Germany have conceded in two of their four games so far and, looking further back, they have only kept four clean sheets in their last 18 assignments, while Spain have conceded in six of their last 10 matches.
The last time these sides met was a 1-1 draw in the 2022 World Cup group stages, with that being the third 1-1 stalemate in the past four encounters between the pair. While a 1-1 draw isn’t necessarily on the cards, both sides to find the net at least once does look probable.
While the likes of Rodri, Pedri, and Lamine Yamal are bigger names in the Spain squad, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Fabian Ruiz has been their standout player so far and he could make a big difference in Stuttgart.
The 28-year-old scored his second goal of the tournament with a header at the back post against Georgia and followed that with his second assist 25 minutes later as he sent a searching ball out to Nico Williams from just outside his own 18-yard box.
Ruiz now has seven goal contributions across his last six games for club and country and he has only blanked in one of these fixtures. He can add to his tally when he faces the Germans on Friday.
Robin Le Normand put the ball into his own net against Georgia, but it is his activity in the fouls market that is more interesting to bettors.
The Real Sociedad centre-back is joint-second in the Euros fouls chart with eight committed in four games. He was reprimanded twice against Georgia, meaning he has committed at least two fouls in all three of his Euro 2024 starts so far.
He gave away one foul against Albania, despite starting on the bench, and has committed two fouls or more in six of his last eight competitive starts for club or country. He will be facing a fluid Germany attack that have drawn 46 fouls in their four games so far, so back the 27-year-old to get in trouble.
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Spain | +162 |
Tie | +220 |
Germany | +175 |
Alvaro Morata (Spain) | +220 |
Ferran Torres (Spain) | +260 |
Mato Joselu (Spain) | +260 |
Mikel Oyarzabal (Spain) | +260 |
Ayoze Perez (Spain) | +275 |
Deniz Undav (Germany) | +275 |
Kai Havertz (Germany) | +275 |
Niclas Fullkrug (Germany) | +275 |
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.