The European champions will be expecting to bounce back.....

Kick-Off: Monday, June 21, 20:30 CET.
Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg.

Overcoming The Shock

At the start of the World Cup, most observers backed Spain to win the competition. However, things got a bit rough for the Spain fans as the European champions suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Switzerland in their opening game of Group H.

La Roja didn't do much wrong in that game except that they couldn't find the opposition's net and conceded a goal that exhibited a startling miscommunication between the defenders and the goalkeeper Iker Casillas. Spain controlled the match and dominated the midfield but couldn't decipher the code that would have led them to the Swiss goal.

However, Spain coach Vicente del Bosque and his men will be tempted to think that the Swiss defeat was a one-off. Such shocks are common in World Cup history and the Europeans will be looking forward to bouncing back in style on Monday when they take on underdogs Honduras.

Paying For Spain's 'Broken Plates'

Honduras are the 'weak link' in the group with Spain, Switzerland and Chile all expected to fight for the top two places. Theoretically the central American team too have a chance of progressing to the last 16 but realistically there is next to no chance.

Honduras opened their World Cup campaign with a 1-0 defeat that was more comprehensive than the scoreline suggests. Injuries and limited resources mean that Reinaldo Rueda's side will be desperate to take anything that they can get, although the fact that they are featuring in the South African extravaganza is an achievement in itself.

Honduras will not be expecting too much against Spain on Monday but given that the European champions lost their opening game of the competition, the Catrachos will be somewhat confident of creating an upset. That would indeed be a fairytale and maximum points will also ensure that Honduras maintain a chance of finishing in the top two in the group.

FORM GUIDE

Spain

June 16: Spain 0-1 Switzerland (World Cup)

Jun 8 Spain 6-0 Poland (Friendly)

Jun 3 Spain 1-0 South Korea (Friendly)

May 29 Spain 3-2 Saudi Arabia (Friendly)

March 3 France 0-2 Spain (Friendly)

Honduras

June 16: Honduras 0-1 Chile (World Cup)

June 5: Romania 3-0 Honduras (Friendly)

June 2: Azerbaijan 0-0 Honduras (Friendly)

May 27: Belarus 2-2 Honduras (Friendly)

April 21: Honduras 0-1 Venezuela (Friendly)

TEAM NEWS

Spain

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is expected to switch to a 4-4-2 formation with both David Villa and Fernando Torres starting in attack. This implies that defensive midfielder Sergio Busquets will be dropped to the bench. Andres Iniesta is set to start too, although he suffered an injury in the 1-0 defeat to Switzerland.

Probable Line-up (4-4-2): Casillas, Ramos, Puyol, Pique, Capdevilla; Silva, Xavi, Alonso, Iniesta; Torres, Villa

Honduras

Striker David Suazo is struggling with an injury and is expected to miss the clash with Spain. Julio De Leon, who suffered an injury before the game against Chile, was pulled out of the 23-man squad and was replaced by Jerry Palacios, who accomplishes a historic feat by playing in the same World Cup with two of his brothers Johnny and Wilson.

Probable Line-up (4-4-2): Valladares, Mendoza, Chavez, Figueroa, Izaguirre; Alvarez, Palacios, Guevera, Espinoza; Pavon, Nunez

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fernando Torres (Spain)

The Liverpool striker came on as an emergency change in the second half of the game against Switzerland and allowed Spain to exercise more options up front. Torres has been suffering injuries of late and his rusty touches against the Swiss showed that. However, the Villa-Torres partnership is arguably the best strike duo in international football and the former Atletico Madrid striker will give Spain more presence in the penalty area that the European champions were severely lacking in their opening game of the World Cup.

Noel Valladares (Honduras)

The Honduran goalkeeper had some nervous moments against Chile in their opening game of the World Cup but overall he had a good game. Spain are one of the most attack-minded sides in the world and for this (and this alone) Valladares will have to be on top of his game. The Honduran backline was breached several times by Chile and one can expect Spain to do so with more frequency. Whether the Europeans achieve success or not will depend to a considerable extent on the Olimpia custodian.

PREDICTION

The Castrol World Cup match predictor gives Spain a 72% chance of winning the match while Honduras are given just 10%; a draw is placed at 18%. Indeed, Spain are the overwhelming favourites to win this game and they should win the game comfortably enough.

Spain 3-0 Honduras