Euro2008 Semi Final Preview ~ Russia v Spain

Russia have slight injury worries over the trio of Diniyar Bilyaletdinov, Ivan Saenko and Alexander Anyukov, but all should be fit to play. Bilyaletdinov and Anyukov were restricted to light running at training, while Saenko did not complete the full session. Defender Denis Kolodin and attacking midfielder Dmitry Torbinski are both missing through suspension.

Spain's Cesc Fabregas is vying with Xavi for the role of playmaker. Arsenal star Fabregas impressed off the bench against Italy in their quarter-final and scored the decisive penalty in the shootout. Spain look to have a full squad to choose from and are favourites to progress, having beaten Russia 4-1 in their group meeting.

But Russia have improved markedly since then, with Andrei Arshavin returning from suspension to pull the strings. But they will miss key defender Kolodin and attacking midfielder Torbinski, who scored their second goal against the Dutch. Vasily Berezutsky is favourite to start in central defence alongside CSKA Moscow team-mate Sergei Ignashevich. The other option is Roman Shirokov, who has not played since the first game against Spain.

BIG MATCH STATS
Head-to-heads

Spain and Russia (including Soviet Union) have met each other on nine previous occasions with Spain winning five times and Russia only once.