Lamine Yamal should come into the starting lineup here after being on the bench for Spain’s opener. He’s clearly Spain’s best player and they desperately miss him when he’s unavailable, he didn’t quite get enough time to impact the game when he came on against Cape Verde but should be able to make more of an impression in this clash.

Yamal has been taking aim more regularly for club and country this season, netting six more goals for Barcelona in the 25/26 campaign than he did the season prior in 10 fewer appearances. It’s something he’s spoken about quite a bit as well, he wants to be more of a goal threat and you can see that with how direct he has been this season. He had two shots coming off the bench against Cape Verde and will be a danger again. 

Yamal only started two games for Spain during qualifying but had 11 shots (6.51 per 90). He also averaged 4.64 shots per 90 across 26 starts for Barcelona during the 25/26 campaign so he’s consistently posted a high shot volume over recent weeks and months.

Spain racked up 11 corners in their draw with Cape Verde last time out and may have to be patient to find a way through this Saudi Arabia side who are likely to mirror the approach of the minnows in this clash.

Saudi Arabia conceded 14 corners against Uruguay, keeping them out until the 80th minute of the game which is a good example of the frustration that they can cause Spain here. Saudi Arabia are likely to pack the box and central areas, naturally forcing Spain to the wings where they can rack up their corner count.

During qualifying, Spain averaged 7.17 corners per game - managing at least six corners in 83% of their matches. We need them to go just one further for this leg of our Bet Builder which I think is pretty likely given how I expect this game to play out. 

Cards have been a little frustrating at the tournament so far with referees appearing to pick and choose what qualifies for a caution on a game by game basis.

However, I do like this angle when teams are going to dominate games and give their opponents plenty of space to run into through moments of transition. That always opens the door for tactical fouls which is Spain’s best chance of picking up a caution in this clash.

Spain committed 10 fouls and picked up a card in their opener against Cape Verde, actually committing nine more fouls than the minnows which shows how dominance isn’t necessarily a blocker to yellow cards, with frustration also possible from the European side if Saudi Arabia can restrict Spain as much as Cape Verde did.

Saudi Arabia picked up at least one card in 83% of their qualifying matches to reach the World Cup and I think they’ll struggle to deal with the rotations that this Spain side will put together.

They went on to collect a second booking in 50% of their qualifying matches, averaging 1.67 cards per game across the campaign. Saudi Arabia should be more frequently tested here by a Spain side that will be looking to be ruthless following the disappointment of their opening game as they failed to beat Cape Verde.

Pedri is arguably Spain’s most important player aside from Lamine Yamal and played quite well in the opener, creating five chances and completing three dribbles.

Cape Verde only committed one foul in that game, we can expect a much greater foul total from Saudi Arabia here and Pedri is likely to be a key target. He won four fouls across four starts during qualifying (1.20 per 90) as well as 1.84 fouls won per 90 across his 23 starts for Barcelona during the 25/26 LaLiga campaign. 

His main opponent here is likely to be Abdullah Alkhaibari who committed seven fouls across four starts during qualifying (1.76 per 90) and maintained an average of 1.83 fouls committed per 90 across 15 starts for Al Nassr during the 25/26 Saudi Pro League campaign.

Marc Cucurella ended up being one of Spain’s only real outlets against Cape Verde last time out, being the only player that managed to time his runs correctly past the low block and get two shots away, one of which found the target. 

Cucurella is quite good at this role, but he’s not really an effective finisher or the player you want to rely on to try and break down a low block. He acts as an extra body in the box to get on the end of crosses, Spain fired in over 25 crosses against Cape Verde so he’s likely to play an active role again as a box crasher. 

Quite a lot was made of Cape Verde’s ability to keep Spain out, but I was also quite surprised at how vulnerable Spain looked in transition. 

Cape Verde managed six shots with one of these attempts finding the target and I think Unai Simon could be required again here with Saudi Arabia having slightly more quality in forward areas.

Unai Simon was forced into making 10 saves across his six starts for Spain during qualifying (1.67 per 90), maintaining a save percentage of 83.3% across these matches.  

This means that Unai Simon is quite a reliable figure and should be able to stand up to any efforts that Saudi Arabia do manage to get away here, particularly from set pieces which is where Cape Verde’s effort on target came from.

I was on this angle for Spain’s opening game and I still think it’s a decent outside option if you’re looking away from the Spain frontline here, who are all really short to find the back of the net.

Luis de la Fuente really likes Fabian Ruiz, he offers something a bit different in Spain’s midfield and is more forward thinking when playing for his country than the likes of Rodri and Pedri.

Ruiz scored two goals across six starts at the last EUROs and five goals for Spain overall in 2024, which was their most successful year so far under Luis de la Fuente as they secured the European Championship trophy. He took five shots against Cape Verde, with one of these efforts finding the target, showing just how often he likes to get forward. 

Abdullah Alkhaibari is quite an aggressive midfielder and I think he’ll struggle to deal with the talent and rotations of this Spain midfield, particularly Pedri who should be able to draw a few fouls from the Al Nassr midfielder.

Alkhaibari collected five yellow cards across just 15 starts during the 25/26 season for Al Nassr, showing that the midfielder will be quite aggressive when out of possession. He also averaged 1.83 fouls committed per 90 across these games so it’s clear that he is one of the better options for a card in the Saudi Arabia side.