Morocco v Spain Betting Tips [6 December 2022]

The Education City Stadium plays host to a potentially scintillating matchup between Morocco and Spain for the Round of 16 of the Qatar World Cup. The winner of this tie will meet either Portugal or Switzerland in the quarter finals. Who would believe at the start of the tournament that Morocco would not only progress through their World Cup group but also top it? Morocco silenced all doubters by playing attractive football with a solid defensive base, becoming just the second African side after Nigeria to top their group twice on international football’s biggest stage. The Atlas Lions entered the final matchday second in the group but beat Canada 2-1, while Croatia could only draw with Belgium.. What coach Regragui has achieved with such little time with his new side is remarkable. Morocco are now unbeaten with him at the helm, having won four and drawn two. Their defensive record is equally impressive, having kept five clean sheets in those six encounters and conceding just one goal in the process. Concerning their head to head record against Spain, the Moroccan outfit have lost two of their previous three meetings, yet managed to claim a draw against them at the 2018 World Cup. 

When a team manages to beat you with a mere 17.7% possession, you could assume that the day after is not going to be the best one. This is the World Cup however, and despite Spain’s abject second half performance, against Japan, they managed to progress from the group, avoiding Croatia and kicking out Germany in the process. Overall however, questions remain for Luis Enrique’s men, who created high expectations for themselves after their opening 7-0 demolition of Costa Rica, yet failed to capitalise on them, taking just a point from their remaining two encounters. Las Furias Rojas have now lost two of their last fourteen games, winning nine of those. The loss to Japan was also Spain’s first in normal  playing time in their last seven World Cup games.

With the stakes now reasonably higher, expect relatively cautious and tactical Round of 16 encounters. Morocco have been stellar defensively throughout the tournament and could certainly give Spain a run for their money here, while Enrique’s side might struggle initially against a team so resolute as the Atlas Lions. Backing the Under 2.5 goals is our value pick for this one.

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