Football Bet of the Day: Spain could dismantle Lionesses

We’ve got a Nations League decider coming our way on Tuesday night as the Lionesses travel to Barcelona to face Spain at the RCDE Stadium (19:00, ITV1). Sarina Wiegman’s side know they have to win to top the group, while for the world champions, a point will be enough to take them into the finals.

This match takes our focus for Tuesday’s Football Bet of the Day, which you can find below.

Now England got the better of Spain in the reverse fixture at Wembley in February, as Jess Park’s goal was enough to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win. Although that victory was impressive, I don’t believe they will be able to repeat the feat playing away from home, against one of the world’s best teams. 

Spain have been in superb form of late, winning six of their last seven matches, with the Wembley defeat the only blot on their recent record. What’s more impressive, and catches my eye, is the rate they have been scoring goals under Montse Tome. 

She’s got this side firing on all cylinders and they’ve now scored 15 goals in their last three outings. With the attacking talent Spain possess, such as Esther Gonzalez, Claudia Pina and Arsenal’s Mariona Caldentey, that should come as no surprise - and they are currently ranked second in Fifa’s world rankings. 

Spain Women vs England Women Odds

There’s a strong argument to be made that they should actually be above the number one outfit, the United States of America, and I personally believe that they are the best team in the world right now. Although Arsenal surprisingly won the Champions League final against a star-studded Barcelona full of Spanish stars, they were statistically under the cosh in that final, and their player of the season - Caldentey - will also be wearing red on Tuesday night. 

Wiegman has shown herself to be tactically astute, but England did lose the World Cup final to Spain in 2023. They’ve also had their struggles on the road and that has come to pass in this Nations League campaign. While Spain have beaten Belgium 5-1 and Portugal 4-2 away from home this year, England lost 3-2 to Belgium and could only manage a 1-1 draw with Portugal - despite securing 5-0 and 6-0 wins at home against the same opposition.  

Football Odds

All of these factors lead me to believe that the Lionesses could be in for a tricky night in Catalonia. Mary Earps' shock retirement ahead of the Euros won’t have helped things in the camp, while I have defensive concerns about the back four, with Leah Williamson still searching for a long-term partner at centre-back. 

Esme Morgan could get the nod for this one, but it’s a tough ask to keep the best players in the world quiet for 90 minutes, and I think England will come under serious pressure. This is a great test ahead of the Euros, but it’s one I’m going to back Spain to win with a -1 handicap on home soil.