A confident Spain faces a struggling Turkey in a Group D match in the Euro 2016 later today at the Stade de Nice in Nice. Spain has won their first match of the tournament and can ensure the quarterfinal berth with a win tonight. Turkey, on the other hand, will know that a defeat will leave them needing to do too much in the final league game against Czech Republic.

Spain has a stellar head to head record against Turkey. That could be why bookmakers rate them so highly. A Turkey win has odds of 17/2 with bet365. A draw, which cannot be ruled out, especially given Spain’s goal-scoring lethargy, has the odds of 10/3.

Spain

Spain may not have the global reputation they had in the golden days of tiki taka. But in European Championships, they are still a giant. The last time they lost a match in the Euros was in 2004. Just to remind you, Spain won the 2008 and 2012 Euro Cups. They have some of the world’s best passers: Andreas Iniesta, Sergion Basquites and David Silva. What they lack is a confident striker who can provide the finishing touches to this intricate passing system.

Spanish fans pin their hopes on Alvaro Morata. He missed a lot of chances against Czech Republic in the opening game. If he continues to be wasteful against Turkey, Aritz Aduriz may get a look-in.

Turkey

Turkey dished out a lacklustre performance in the opening match against Croatia. They were at least in the game during the first half an hour. But once Luka Modric scored the goal, Turkey completely lost the plot. They played like kids who lost the way in a big city. Coach Fatih Terim admits it: “In the first match we were more like a club side than a national team. It upset us all. There was no reaction after conceding and that isn't good”.

He wants better energy and fighting spirit from his players in this match, especially from the two pivotal players in the line-up: Arda Turan and Hakan Calhanoglu. They have been so poor that Turan actually apologized to the fans after the match for the flop show. If Turkey entertains any hopes of getting some points from this match, they must disrupt Spain’s passing network. If it starts functioning, a goal is bound to come from somewhere.

Spain - Turkey match facts

• Spain leads the head to head record against Turkey 4-1 in seven matches. It has been more than six decades since Turkey won a match against Spain. It happened in Istanbul in 1954. “You know what happened in Istanbul”, Turkish fans could well be singing.
• Spain has completed 600 minutes in the Euro Cups without conceding a goal. And they are unbeaten in the last 13 Euro matches too.
• Turkey has won only three of their 13 Euro matches. Only in two matches did they manage to not concede a goal. And only in one match did they score in the first half.

Spain - Turkey betting tips

A problem with Spain’s tiki taka is that it focuses more on possession than on scoring goals. But they are capable of getting a win here.

Spain to win 1.44 @ bet365