England Women vs Spain Women Preview: Where to Watch, Live Stream, Kick Off Time & Team News
England take on Spain on Tuesday in one of their final scheduled friendly clashes ahead of the beginning of the Women's World Cup in June.
The Lionesses slipped to a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Canada on Friday, with Phil Neville's side looking to regain some much-needed momentum ahead of this summer when they face Spain at Swindon's County Ground.
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Check out 90min's preview of the clash below.
Where to Watch
When Is Kick Off? | Tuesday 9 April |
What Time Is Kick Off? | 19:00 (GMT) |
Where Is it Played? | County Ground |
TV Channel/Live Stream? | BBC Two |
Team News
The big team news for England surrounds the absence of captain Steph Houghton who was confirmed to be missing for Tuesday's clash with a 'mild groin strain'. Along with the Manchester City defender, Lionesses boss Neville indicated that he will be making changes to the starting line-up in a bid to give other members of his squad the chance to impress.
The likes of Georgia Stanway, Ellen White and Beth Mead may get the opportunity to start from the off, whilst Lucy Bronze may return to a more familiar full-back role.
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For Spain, Jorge Vilda may be hard-pushed to make any significant changes to his team for the clash against England after his side came from a goal down to beat a Marta-inspired Brazil 2-1.
Barcelona winger Alexia Putellas was in inspired form and scored the equaliser in the second half to kick-start her side's comeback, and will once again be the player England's defenders need to watch out for.
Predicted Lineups
England | Bardsley; Bronze, Bonner, McManus, Greenwood; Williamson, Walsh, Scott; Stanway, White, Mead. |
Spain | Panos; Torrejon, Paredes, Pereira, Leon; Losada, Meseguer, Sampedro, Putellas; Caldentey, Jenni. |
Recent Form
Aside from their disappointing outing against Canada, England have been in fine form under the stewardship of Neville. The Lionesses produced a series of impressive displays in the SheBelieves Cup earlier this year to claim the trophy, with a notable 2-1 win over Brazil and a superb draw against reigning World Cup holders USA.
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Before Friday's victory over Brazil, La Roja had endured a mixed campaign in the Algarve Cup, with 2-0 victories over the Netherlands and ten-man Switzerland sandwiched by a surprising 3-0 defeat to Poland. Having failed to win a single game at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, Vilda's side will be hoping for a more productive tournament this time around.
Here's how both sides have fared in their last five fixtures:
England | Spain |
England 0-1 Canada (05/04) | Spain 2-1 Brazil (05/04) |
Japan 0-3 England (05/03) | Switzerland 0-2 Spain (06/03) |
USA 2-2 England (02/03) | Poland 3-0 Spain (01/03) |
England 2-1 Brazil (27/02) | Spain 2-0 Netherlands (27/02) |
Kazakhstan 0-6 England (04/09) | Spain 0-1 USA (22/01) |
Prediction
Having won the SheBelieves Cup for the very first time last month, England's hope of continuing that momentum was halted with a late defeat to Canada. Despite manager Neville insisting that his side did not deserve to lose, the display felt like a step back from the impressive performances that saw them beat Brazil and draw with the USA.
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With changes expected to be made, fresh faces might see the Lionesses get back on track, and despite Spain's own impressive win on Friday, England should have enough to seal a much-needed win.
Prediction: England 2-1 Spain
