Germany Missing Their Bayern Munich Heroes
There are just two Bayern Munich players in the Germany squad to face Spain on Thursday 3 September, with manager Joachim Low accepting that the likes of Joshua Kimmich, Manuel Neuer and Serge Gnabry need some time out after helping their club win the Champions League.
Leroy Sane and Niklas Sule are the Bayern representatives, although the former is a new recruit at the Allianz Arena, while the latter is essentially a reserve defender for his club and will be fresh for this contest if selected.
Germany are still warm favourites to win this Nations League clash, with new Chelsea signings Timo Werner and Kai Havertz likely to feature, while we have Julian Draxler, Julian Brandt and Ilkay Gundogan adding plenty of experience in midfield.
Are Spain Any Good on the International Front?
We have abiding images of Spain dominating at the 2010 World Cup thanks to players such as David Silva, Andres Iniesta and Xavi, although that era has since passed and the jury is out on whether the current Spanish international team is actually that good.
OK so they qualified for Euro 2020 relatively easily although Luis Enrique doesn’t appear to have a vintage crop of players at his disposal and that is borne out by the latest squad which lacks quality and experience.
Sergio Ramos and Sergio Busquets continue to operate as the backbone of the team although both are entering the twilight of their career, while Jesus Navas has been re-born as a full-back and David de Gea continues to be first-choice between the sticks despite several mistakes in a Manchester United shirt.
Thiago adds quality in midfield, although this team looks short of goals and all the forwards are inexperienced at international level including Marco Asensio and Rodrigo.
What Are the Best Bets for This Match?
We actually think Germany are the better team on paper although the big worry is that neither of these teams have played any sort of football match for a long time due to lockdown. Therefore, any bets placed on the opening Nations League games need to be treated with caution, especially as the games continue to be played behind closed doors.
While the Germans are missing Bayern players, they can still field a highly competitive Starting 11 and we love the way that Havertz and Werner had such strong seasons for Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig respectively.
We are happy to predict a win for the home side at reasonable odds and would also look to back them to win the game to nil. For a third bet, how about a 3-0 victory for Die Mannschaft who will look to get up and running in style against a Spanish side going through a transition.