Iran vs Spain FIFA World Cup 2018 – Lineups, Predictions & Stats Preview 20 June 2018
Suprise Group B Leaders Iran take on Spain in the third game of the day. Can Spain repeat their star performance from matchday one and stamp their authority over a dogged Iran team?
Iran Probable Lineups and Stats
Munir Beiranvand will once more take the number one jersey. The back four remains intact with Roozbeh Cheshmi and the Qatari based Pouraliganji as central defenders, while Ramin Rezaeian playing number 2 on the right back and Olympiakos’ Ehsan Hajsafi number 3 on the left side. However, Queiroz might be forced to change tact with his attack and midfield. With Spain’s prowess in attack and holding, it might be prudent to adopt 4-2-3-1 formation to counter their influence. In this regard Vahid Amiri will play deep with Omid Ebrahimi as defensive midfielders, allowing Olympiakos’ Karim Ansarifard, Masoud Shojaei and the new blood Saman Ghoddos in offensive midfield. Rubin Kazan’s Sardar Azmoun will be the main man in front. The intention will be keeping the Spanish defence busy and allow either of the attacking midfielders to get the goals.Spain Probable Lineups and Stats
De Gea will start between the goal posts. In defence, The Captain (Sergio Ramos) and Gerard Pique will feature at the centre, while Jordi Alba and Nacho on the left and right respectively. Nacho had the toughest job in their opening game in marking Cristiano Ronaldo. He braced up and even got a goal through a perfect volley.
Hierro’s and Spain’s love for the 4-3-3 formation makes Spain’s midfield the best in the tournament. Keen to improve on their 67% ball possession in their opening game, Iniesta might start in the middle to replace the booked Busquets as Asensio moves to the left flank. Alcantara might start on the right while Diego Costa will be tasked to get the goals with the help of Isco on the left and David Silva on the right wing.
Iran v Spain – Head to Head
These two teams have never met in any competition, and it would be nice to break the York. 2010 was the Spaniards best season at the World Cup where they emerged victors. Others are 3 times quarter-finalists and 2 times at round of 16. Their least favourite championship was in Brazil in 2014. Iran has featured 4 times in the tournament but has never gone past the group stage. Their latest outing was in 2014 in Brazil where they also recorded their least cumulative points, bowing out at position 28.Expert Tip
The Spaniards are fully capable of great attacking football and we expect to see their efforts rewarded with at least one goal. If the Iranians put all their strength and capability in defence, we will observe a one-sided game of football, so we can say that there will be over 9.5 corners, under 2.5 goals and no more than 3 cards in the match. Diego Costa produced a fantastic performance in the 1st game against Portugal and we will back him to score anytime as the next second option.Interesting Facts and Information
- Spain haven’t lost in their last 21 games.
- Iran wins 1st half in 25% of their games, Spain in 63% of their games.
- In World Cup, Spain has better performance than Iran.
- Iran scores 1.67 goals when playing at home and Spain scores 3.2 goals when playing away (on average).
- When Iran leads 1-0 at home, they win in 100% of their games.
- When Spain leads 0-1 away, they win in 50% of their games.
- When Iran is down 0-1 home, they win 0% of their games.
- When Spain is down 1-0 away, they win 0% of their games.
- Spain have scored at least one goal for 21 consecutive games.
- Iran have scored at least one goal for 5 consecutive games.
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