Euro 2016

Date: Monday, 13th June, 2016

Time: 14.00pm BST

Venue: Stadium Municipal, Toulouse

Live Stream: Watch Spain vs Czech Republic live.

The defending champions start their Euro 2016 campaign this afternoon as they take on an ageing Czech Republic side in Toulouse on Monday.

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Spain are third favourites with the bookmakers to lift the trophy again this summer and will be looking to emulate France and Germany by winning their opening match.  They head into the tournament after winning nine of their 10 qualifying matches after being eliminated from the 2016 World Cup after only two matches.

Their opponents Czech Republic topped a group that included Iceland, Turkey and a woeful Netherlands side, taking 22 points from a possible 30.  This included three points versus Turkey whom they finish the group against next Tuesday.

Croatia set the standard in Group D yesterday in a dominant display despite the scoreline only reading 1-0 against Turkey.

On paper Spain certainly have one of the strongest squads in the tournament.  In fact, it’s really a coin toss between them and Germany.  This includes three Chelsea players – Cesar Azpilicueta is competing for a starting position at full-back, but many believe Atletico Madrid’s Juanfran will play on the right and Barcelona’s Jordi Alba on the left of a back four.

Cesc Fabregas is certainly expected to see some action in this tournament but Spain have a wealth of talent in the centre of midfield to choose from – Sergio Busquets, Andres Iniesta, Thiago Alcantara and Koke all vying for a starting place.  You can expect coach Vicente del Bosque to give them all a game in the group stage and perhaps all of them will get a start too.

There are question marks over who is going to score the goals for Spain this summer after Diego Costa and Fernando Torres were left back home.  Pedro is one of those hoping to start as he has a great record at international level.  Only Manchester City’s David Silva has more than Pedro’s 17 goals among the 23-man squad.  Alvaro Morata is expected to be the striker, whilst Nolito and Lucas Vazquez are the other options.

Chelsea legend Petr Cech is between the sticks for the Czech Republic.  The 34-year-old can expect a busy game versus both Spain and Croatia in this group and maybe even Turkey too given their defensive record.  There aren’t many household names in front of him and the Czechs did concede 14 goals in their 10 qualifying matches.

Arsenal’s Tomas Rosicky is the nation’s captain – one of several players past the age of 30 who is expected to start against Spain.

Confirmed Starting Lineups

OFICIAL | 11 hombres para pelear el sueño de 46 millones de españoles. ¡Queremos la #EURO2016! #VamosEspaña pic.twitter.com/QV0H5Xxkhf

— Selección Española de Fútbol (@SEFutbol) June 13, 2016

Here we go! This is the starting XI of the Czech team!#ESPCZE pic.twitter.com/a2nbyRN1ID

— Czech Football National Team (@ceskarepre_eng) June 13, 2016

Key Stats

3 – Spain are on a three-match winning streak in this fixture.

8 – Spain finished their qualifying campaign winning eight in a row and without conceding a single goal during that run.

509 – Spain have not conceded a single goal in their last 509 minutes at the European Championship finals.

Prediction: Spain 2-0 Czech Republic

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