Spain trained at the Mercedes Benz Arena in Stuttgart, scene of the match, and it was the first opportunity to see something of what Luis Enrique is preparing on his return to the bench (all training sessions in Las Rozas had been behind closed doors). The coach divided the team into two groups, in what could be intuited as the attack and defense headlines. The former were left performing attacks, with crosses and shots, while the latter performed possession exercises in a confined space.
The trident that Luis Enrique tested was the one composed of Ansu Fati on the left, Rodrigo on the right and Gerard Moreno on the point. An attack that makes sense after Asensio's absence due to injury, since the Spaniard had occupied the right wing in the initial training sessions of the week and Rodrigo is the only southpaw in the squad who can play a similar role. The other two options to replace Asensio would be Olmo and Ferran, both right-handed.
The midfield would be composed of Busquets, Mikel Merino and Thiago. The presence of the latter seems certain, since he arrives in top form after winning the Champions League with Bayern and knows his rival perfectly. For his part, Luis Enrique has always trusted Busquets, whom he has summoned despite being discussed at Barça. As for Merino, it would be one of the eleven's surprises if he finally comes out ahead of Fabián.
The defense would be occupied Carvajal, Ramos, Pau Torres and Reguilón. With the absence of Íñigo Martínez, who used to accompany Ramos, Pau is the only left-handed center-back left to Luis Enrique, who always attaches great importance to getting the ball out. Although Ramos usually occupies that central demarcation on the left, the coach likes to field a left-handed defender.
If this is fulfilled the main doubt would be, once again, in the goal. In rehearsals Unai Simón went to make possessions and the goal was occupied by Kepa and De Gea. In this way, the capital surprise that the chosen one was Athletic's is ruled out, but the uncertainty remains as to whether the holder will be Chelsea or United …