Spain v Uruguay Prediction 16th June 2013

Spain v Uruguay Betting Preview
The reigning European and world champions Spain, will start their quest to get their hands on the Confederations Cup for the first time ever, when they take on Uruguay on Sunday. The two have already met during 2013, with Spain taking a 3-1 victory back in a friendly in February. The South Americans have been struggling badly to find consistency and form and they have lost their way since winning the 2011 Copa America, a win which saw them qualify for this tournament. La Celeste have talent in their squad, but can they raise their game to face the Spaniards?

Spain v Uruguay Betting Odds at online bookmaker Bet365
Spain 4/7, Draw 14/5, Uruguay 5/1

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Spain v Uruguay Recommended Bet:
It was four years ago at the 2009 Confederations Cup that Spain had a long unbeaten run snapped. They were toppled against the odds by the USA in the semi finals, ending the Spaniard’s 35 match unbeaten streak. That was after winning all of their group games in the Confederations Cup and not conceding a goal. This time around they head to the competition on a 25 match unbeaten streak and the sign of Spain’s dominance in world football doesn’t look close to ending. Nineteen of the squad that they are taking with them were part of their title winning side at Euro 2012. Eighteen of their squad were at the 2010 World Cup. They are tremendously talented and their style will see them dominate matches through possession. The only aspect missing is perhaps a world class number nine goalscorer.

In order to get around this, coach Vicente del Bosque played with the false number nine at Euro 2012, and can’t decide what the best option between Cesc Fabregas, Roberto Soldado, Fernando Torres and David Villa. They’ll be envious of the duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani that Uruguay can field. The Spaniards played their way into control of their World Cup 2014 qualification group ahead of France, so with them likely to be back in Brazil next summer, this is going to be superb preparation. This is likely to be the group decider, with only Tahiti and Nigeria to come. This is only Spain’s second attempt at the Confederations Cup and the fluidity and style should be them to go far. They’ll likely get close to fulfilling their role as joint favourites. On the other side of the coin, Uruguay are struggling to find their identity, in a bit of a transition period between new and old.

La Celeste looked a world class side when they went deep into the 2010 World Cup and then took the 2011 Copa America title. It has been downhill since then for them. The squad has pretty much been aging at the same time, and with what seemed to be a youthful set up full of promise failing to deliver at the 2012 London Olympics, La Celeste are in an odd spot. Coach Oscar Tabarez has a brilliant tactical mind, but can’t seem to get the best out of his options at the moment. There was promise in a great display in defeat against Spain earlier in the year, but as they are struggling to reach the 2014 World Cup in qualification, they could use some confidence from a good run at the Confederations Cup. If their forwards fire then they may give themselves a platform. The overall form just isn’t there though.

In the Spain v Uruguay head to head, the South American nation have never recorded a victory against the Spaniards. The record stands at five draws and four wins for Spain. The friendly on Doha back in February was their most recent victory. In the nine previous meetings, Spain have scored 14 goals to Uruguay’s seven.

Form
Spain DWWDWW, Uruguay LWLDLW