Albania vs Spain Prediction: Spain to win it by the odd goal in three

Spain have been one of the most impressive teams so far in Euro 2024 and they will be playing beyond Monday night's game on BBC Two (20:00). Albania though still have hope themselves.

Mark Sochon previews the game for us at Betfred Insights and he takes us through his Albania vs Spain Predictions...

Group B at Euro 2024 concludes on Monday night. Albania are bidding to upset Spain, who have already won this group, as they target a place in the knockout stage.

It’s widely expected to be a much changed Spain eleven after they laid down a real marker for this tournament by totally outclassing Italy in Gelsenkirchen on Thursday.

Billed as a heavyweight contest, it developed into one of the most one-sided games at these Euros so far. A 1-0 scoreline, with an own goal settling the match in La Roja’s favour, scarcely did justice to the gulf between the two sides on the night.

Having beaten Croatia 3-0 on matchday one, despite having less possession, fewer shots and creating fewer xG than their opponents, Spain put in a much more complete performance against the Azzurri. With Rodri pulling the strings from deep, they enjoyed the kind of midfield control that you associate with the Spanish national team, but this was far from the safe, cautious passing approach that has seen them fall short in previous tournaments.

They were a constant threat on the flanks with Nico Williams outstanding on the left. It was the 21 year old who effectively forced the own goal from Riccardo Calafiori with one of many dangerous crosses he put in. The Athletic player also rattled the crossbar shortly afterwards as Spain attempted to kill the game off.

The result means it’s four wins from four for Spain this month and they will face a third placed team in Cologne next Sunday in the last 16 regardless of the outcome here. Luis de la Fuente’s side surely now have to be seen as one of the favourites to go all the way, although doubts do linger as to whether they are clinical enough in the final third with a host of missed chances against the Italians.

As for Albania, victory on Monday would surely rank as their most significant ever result and it would see them move onto four points which would almost certainly be enough for qualification.

Their only previous victory at a major tournament came on the final matchday of the group stage at Euro 2016. However, after an agonising wait, a 1-0 triumph over Romania would not ultimately prove enough to see them rank as one of the best third-placed teams.

Eight years on, Albania can be proud of how they’ve competed in this tough group with a narrow 2-1 defeat against Italy followed by an entertaining 2-2 draw against Croatia.

They’d have left Hamburg on Wednesday with mixed feelings having led their Balkans neighbours for more than an hour after Qazim Laci’s early strike. In the end, they were grateful to snatch a point at the death with the experienced Klaus Gjasula making amends for his earlier own goal with a 95th minute strike.

Sylvinho’s team and the passionate Albanian following head to Düsseldorf for this game in the knowledge that this is a fixture they are almost certainly going to need to win if they want to extend their stay in Germany.

Team News:

Spain are missing Rodri to suspension on Monday after the Manchester City man picked up yellow cards in the opening two games. They are also expecting to be without Nacho and Ayoze

Pérez due to injuries with the latter having made his tournament debut off the bench against Italy.

With nothing really at stake, Luis de la Fuente could opt to make as many as 10 changes from the last game with Aymeric Laporte potentially the only one to keep his place given Nacho’s muscular problems.

Albania are hoping to have a clean bill of health with defender Enea Mihaj expected to overcome a niggle to be available.

After a competitive display against Croatia, Sylvinho could go with the same eleven again. There is competition up front though with Armando Broja hoping to be recalled after Rey Manaj was preferred against the Croats.

Albania vs Spain Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Spain vs Italy Euro 2024 market page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Despite the expectation that they will rest their stars, Spain are still the clear 4/9 favourites to win this game with the Draw priced at 18/5 while Albania are on offer at 13/2.

If you’re expecting goals, you can back Both Teams to Score at 10/11, a winning bet in Albania’s two matches at the competition so far. La Roja are yet to concede though and you can back Spain to win to nil at 5/4.

The potential for changes across the front-line for Spain raises some interesting options in the goalscorer markets. Mikel Oyarzabal is perhaps most likely to take Alvaro Morata’s place up top and fresh from a friendly hat-trick against Andorra earlier this month, you can back Oyarzabal to score first at 5/1 and score anytime at 7/4.

Among the other new attacking options we could see from Spain, Dani Olmo is priced at 11/5 to score anytime while you can back Ferran Torres to score anytime at 9/5. Striker Rey Manaj is the shortest priced Albanian at 7/2 to score anytime.

There are also a wide range of #PickYourPunt popular builders to pick from with 3+ Goals, 10+ Corners and 3+ Cards in the match boosted to 7/1.

Bet 1 - Spain most corners & Albania most booking points @ 10/11

While they’ll obviously be weakened by the absence of the likes of Rodri, Spain have a number of classy midfield players who should be capable of coming in and ensuring the Group B winners have the better of this game in terms of possession and territory. La Roja have only conceded two corners in the entire tournament so far and should have the edge on that front.

With nothing really at stake, Luis de la Fuente will want his team to avoid unnecessary bookings with the card count not reset until after the quarter-finals. Albania meanwhile will surely be intent

on leaving everything on the pitch as they target a famous victory. We can expect a full-blooded display from them and I’m using the #PickYourPunt builder to back Spain most corners and Albania most booking points at 10/11.

Bet 2 - First Half Double Chance - Albania or Draw @ 4/5

With wholesale rotation likely, we may see a bit of uncertainty from Spain in the opening stages and it’s hard to see them being anywhere near as fluid and dominant as they were against Italy, despite this in theory being the easier fixture.

Albania have started brightly at this tournament, scoring inside a minute against Italy while they took the lead in the 11th minute and led at the break against Croatia last time out. They won’t be lacking in desire and commitment in the opening stages of this one which could potentially lead to an awkward opening 45 minutes for the favourites and I’m backing First Half Double Chance - Albania or Draw at 4/5.

Bet 3 - Albania 1-2 Spain @ 7/1

Even if Albania do initially compete well in this game, Spain are still likely to have a bench stacked full of talent to call upon if needed and Sylvinho’s team may run out of steam in the end.

A confident Spanish squad ought to have enough to finish the group stage with a 100% record but they may be a bit more vulnerable defensively in this game as a result of the changes.

Albania have proved a tough nut to crack over the past couple of years, losing just one of their last 16 internationals by more than a single goal and I’m going with Spain to win 2-1 at 7/1 in the correct score market.

You can get all the latest betting prices for all the matches in this tournament on our Euro 2024 Odds page over on betfred.com

Betfred Match Offers:

Goal Fever

Throughout Euro 2024, Betfred are offering all customers a 25% cash bonus if your selected team in the Match Result market wins by 3+ Goals on selected matches. Albania vs Spain is part of this promotion, so if you back and team and they win by three or more, you would see 25% added to your winnings on that bet.

Double Delight & Hat-Trick Heaven

This Albania vs Spain game is also one for those who like a bit of a potential bonus in the first goalscorer markets. Should the player you bet on score first and subsequently go on to score a second in the match, we'll double the odds and if they get a hat-trick, we'll treble the odds!

Mark Sochon primarily covers Spanish football for us here at Betfred Insights and he'll be following the Spanish national side throughout the Euro's for us. You can check out his and all the other Football Betting Tips from our writing staff on our main Football hub page.