Sweden v Spain tips: World Cup qualifying best bets and preview
Jake Pearson previews Spain's World Cup qualifier against Sweden, picking out a best bet and a score prediction.
Football betting tips: World Cup qualifiers
1pt Draw/Spain in the half-time/full-time market at 18/5 (General)
Spain currently sit top of Group B after three matches, but Luis Enrique’s men have already dropped points, while Sweden have won both games they have played.
Spain opened their World Cup qualification campaign with a bitterly disappointing draw away to Greece, but they came from a goal down to beat Georgia, and ultimately ran out comfortable winners over Kosovo.
Sweden’s wins came at home to Georgia and away to Kosovo, both games Janne Andersson’s men were expected to win.
These two look increasingly likely to finish first and second in the group, but which way around is yet to be decided, and this could be a cagey fixture in Sweden, just as it was in Seville at Euro 2020.
Kick-off time: 19:45 BST, Thursday
TV Channel: Sky Sports Premier League
Sweden 4/1 | Draw 12/5 | Spain 7/10
That game finished in a stalemate, but in truth, Spain were dominant, hogging 70% of the possession, while also creating opportunities equating to 2.89 Expected Goals (xG).
That is not to say Sweden did not have chances of their own, however, Marcus Berg in particular wasting a golden opportunity (62%) to win the match.
While Spain went on to defy expectations and ultimately fall short only on penalties in the semi-finals, Sweden crashed out of the European Championship to Ukraine, in a poor last-16 match.
That will hurt for the Swedes, arguably a better team than Ukraine player-for-player, and they will be desperate to make amends in this qualification campaign.
It took Spain a while to hit their stride at the Euros, drawing their first two matches, scoring just once, and that can potentially be explained away by the style deployed by the Spaniards.
Despite Luis Enrique attempting to move away from tiki taka, Spain still play possession-based football, that was clear for all to see at the Euros, and such football requires rhythm and timing, something that can often take a while to click into gear.
Once it did come together the Spaniards looked immaculate, but after another month and a half back with their respective clubs, the synchronisation will need to be rebuilt.
Given Sweden held Spain at the Euros, the blueprint is already there, and it is difficult to see Andersson veering too far from the defensive strategy they employed.
Spain are fancied to win this game, but it could take them 45 minutes or so to hit top gear, which means backing DRAW/SPAIN in the half time/full time market makes plenty of appeal, particularly at a price of 18/5.
Sweden v Spain best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Draw/Spain in the half time/full time market at 18/5 (General)
Score prediction: Sweden 0-1 Spain (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1615 BST (31/08/21)
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