Given their star-studded squad, it’s unsurprising to see Spain approach their opening fixture against Macedonia at long odds-on; however, despite Spain’s strength in depth, Macedonia come into this tournament with an impressive recent record and could make this a tougher test for the Spanish than the odds suggest.
With the quality at Albert Celades’ disposal, it would be a big disappointment if this young Spain side weren’t capable of winning this match but, at the prices, there is little value to be had from backing them to do so. Instead, the bet that stands out is ‘Marco Asensio to Score and Spain to Win’.
As is common knowledge, the Spanish way is to retain possession as much as possible and probe the opposition in order to create openings. With this in mind, the Macedonians are unlikely to come here and do anything other than sit deep and aim to frustrate. Quite frankly, anything else would be suicidal. While such a tactic might not see them come out on top, Macedonia could easily do a better defensive job than you might think, especially since they come into this fixture having kept five consecutive clean sheets.
With Macedonia inevitably sitting deep, there could be limited opportunities for players such as Sandro Ramírez or Iñaki Williams to exploit space in behind, which means the breakthrough may have to come via a different avenue. Enter Marco Asensio. Although playing time didn’t come as frequently at the 21-year-old attacking midfielder might have liked during the regular campaign, Asensio still managed to score ten goals for Real Madrid last season. As a player who’s adept at coming deep to get on the ball before beating players and getting shots off, the 21-year-old chipped in with four goals during qualifying and is just the sort of player suited to picking the lock in a fixture such as this.
Ahead of match where not too much appeals at the prices on offer, backing Marco Asensio to feature prominently in a Spanish win is one that that certainly catches they eye.
Tips for Portugal U21 v Serbia U21 can be found here.