Spain Predicted Lineup vs. Saudi Arabia—World Cup Group H

La Roja needs a big showing after frustration last time out.

Lamine Yamal will hope to play a greater role. | Pablo Garcia/Soccrates/Getty Images

A draw in its World Cup opener against Cabo Verde has heaped the pressure on Spain ahead of Sunday’s meeting with Saudi Arabia.

Luis de la Fuente’s side fell well short of expectations as they failed to find a way through a side ranked 65 places below in FIFA’s world rankings, and now need points in what should be its two trickiest opponents, starting with Saudi Arabia.

Spain brought a handful of attacking injury concerns into this summer’s tournament and those have not yet eased fully, but De la Fuente will look to make whatever changes he can to try and inspire a positive result.

Here’s how Spain could line up for this one.

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Spain Predicted Lineup vs. Saudi Arabia

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Pick Your Spain Starting XI!

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GK: Unai Simón—Just one save was needed from Simón last time out. He will anticipate being slightly busier here.

RB: Marcos Llorente—Llorente’s all-action approach could be crucial to a Spain that loves throwing everything forward and can often need to retreat quickly on the counter.

CB: Pau Cubarsí—Barcelona’s young star spent most of his time against Cabo Verde in the opponent’s half, but Saudi Arabia should create a few more problems.

CB: Aymeric Laporte—Laporte endured a handful of shaky moments against Cabo Verde but there is no need to make any drastic changes to the defense just yet.

LB: Marc Cucurella—After the whirlind of confirming his move to Real Madrid on the morning of the last game, Cucurella will expect a calmer day out here.

DM: Rodri—No player had more touches of the ball for Spain against Cabo Verde than Rodri, who remains an integral part of the team’s build-up.

CM: Pedri—To nobody’s surprise, Pedri was excellent in Spain’s opening fixture, and De la Fuente will be trying to work out ways to get him even more involved.

CM: Fabian Ruíz—If there is to be a change in midfield, it is likely to come here, although Fabian will hope to fend off competition from Mikel Merino and retain his starting spot.

RW: Lamine Yamal—Yamal has admitted he is not fit enough to play the full 90 minutes here, but a significant jump up from the 20 minutes handed to his last time out is to be expected.

ST: Mikel Oyarzabal—De la Fuente is a huge fan of Oyarzabal and is unlikely to change that stance after one poor performance.

LW: Nico Williams—Like Yamal, Williams is not firing on all cylinders right now, but he could try and decide this game early before heading to the bench for the final moments.

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