Preview: Spain vs. Lithuania - prediction, team news, lineups

Spain will complete their preparations for this summer's European Championships with a friendly against Lithuania in Leganes on Tuesday night.

La Roja will enter the contest off the back of a goalless draw with Portugal on Friday, while Lithuania suffered a 3-1 loss to Latvia in the Baltic Cup on the same evening.

Spain's team for this match will involve Under-21 players, as Sergio Busquets has tested positive for coronavirus, meaning that close contacts of the midfielder are having to self-isolate.

Match preview

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Spain, as mentioned, played out a 0-0 draw with Portugal on Friday night, but La Roja will be keen to enter Euro 2020 off the back of a win, even if the team will involve players not taking part in the competition.

Luis Enrique's side have been drawn into Group E this summer alongside Poland, Slovakia and Sweden - three extremely capable teams - but it would be a huge surprise if they did not progress to the knockout stages.

Spain, who are unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, have won two of the last three European Championships, but they failed to make an impression at Euro 2016, being eliminated in the round of 16 by Italy.

Enrique is certainly taking the national team in a new direction, with a number of younger players being given chances to make their mark at this level, and it was a very bold decision from the head coach to leave Sergio Ramos out of his squad for the European Championships.

Time will tell whether this Spain side is capable of making a serious impression at Euro 2020, but the amount of talent in their squad means that it is difficult to write them off.

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Lithuania, meanwhile, have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Baltic Cup this month, losing 1-0 to Estonia on June 1 before suffering a 3-1 reverse to Latvia on Friday.

Valdas Urbonas's side have now lost each of their last five matches in all competitions, including defeats to Switzerland and Italy in their opening two 2022 World Cup qualification fixtures.

Lithuania have never qualified for the finals of a World Cup or European Championship, meaning that it was not a surprise to see them fail to book their spot at Euro 2020.

The National Team actually finished bottom of Group B during qualification for this summer's tournament, picking up just one point from eight matches, which is an indication of their struggles.

Lithuania's next competitive match is a World Cup qualifier against Northern Ireland at the start of September, but they will be desperate to pick up a positive result against Spain on Tuesday evening.

Team News

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With the Spain senior squad in self-isolation, the Under-21s will be called upon for this match, while Under-21s manager Luis De la Fuente will take charge of the contest.

The XI is expected to have a similar look to the one that took to the field for their Under-21 Championship semi-final against Portugal on Thursday, with the likes of Oscar Mingueza, Bryan Gil and Brahim Diaz set to be involved.

As a result, it will still be a relatively recognisable side, with Marc Cucurella and Martin Zubimendi likely to feature, while Yeremi Pino and Juan Miranda will also hope to play a part.

As for Lithuania, Arvydas Novikovas is the leading goalscorer in the squad with 12, and the 30-year-old should again feature in an attacking position for the visitors.

Fedor Cernych, who has struck nine times in 63 caps, is also likely to be given the nod in the final third of the field, with Karolis Laukzemis potentially operating in a wider area.

Captain Saulius Mikoliunas should earn his 95th international cap on Tuesday evening, while there could also be a Lithuania debut for Lecce's Edgaras Dubickas.

Spain possible starting lineup:
Fernandez; Oscar, Mingueza, Cuenca, Cucurella; Zubimendi, Villar; Diaz, Garcia, Gil; Puado

Lithuania possible starting lineup:
Svedkauskas; Mikoliunas, Beneta, Girdvainis, Vaitkunas; Dapkus, Simkus, Eliosius; Novikovas, Cernych, Laukzemis

We say: Spain 2-1 Lithuania

Spain's plans for this match and Euro 2020 have been thrown into disarray, but the Under-21s are still full of talent and should have enough to record a victory over Lithuania on Tuesday night.