Three-time European champions Spain can qualify for the finals of Euro 2016 if they secure a victory over Luxembourg in Friday's Group C clash in Logrono.
The visitors are unable to fight for a seat on the plane to France next summer as the highest that they can finish in the qualifying round is fourth.
Spain
Spain have been giants of international competition over the last few years, but they are slowly moving into the shadow of world champions Germany, who took the crown in Brazil last summer.
Next year's Euro finals in France will give Vicente del Bosque's side the chance to prove that they can still cut it with the best as they will be fighting for their third consecutive title following triumphs in 2008 and 2012.
There is still some work to do yet before Spain book their place in the finals, and they are certain of at least a playoff spot as they currently top the group by two points above Slovakia.
A win on Friday is required to seal the deal, and given their recent form in the campaign, it should be a fairly straightforward task.
Del Bosque's side have won their last six qualifiers on the trot, and are unbeaten on home soil in 31 matches, winning 27 and recording four draws.
The last time that Spain were beaten at home in a European Championship match was in June 2003 when Greece grabbed a 1-0 victory.
While Spain's winning run has been impressive, there have not been two many goals of late. In their last six qualifying matches, Del Bosque's side have scored seven goals, the last of which came in the form of an own goal from Tome Pacovski in their qualifier against Macedonia last month.
Friday's encounter will be Spain's 150th game in this tournament following 96 victories, 27 draws and 26 defeats.
Recent form: WWWWWW
Recent form (all competitions): WLWWWW
Luxembourg
A fourth-place finish is the best that Luxembourg can hope for when they take on Spain this Friday as they are just one point above the bottom of Group C following six defeats, one draw and just a single victory in their qualifying campaign.
Macedonia are the only team beneath them, while Belarus, Ukraine, Slovakia and leaders Spain all reside in the top four of the standings.
Luxembourg have struggled to keep clean sheets in this tournament as they have allowed 14 goals to get shipped past them, and their away form is disappointing having lost their last six on the road.
Since their surprise 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the 2010 World Cup qualifying campaign seven years ago, Luxembourg have failed to pick up an away win in competitive qualifiers, making this Friday's match an uphill battle already.
Luc Holtz's side did manage to stop the rot briefly last month when they ended a four-game winless run by claiming all three points against Macedonia in a 1-0 triumph, thanks to an injury-time goal from Sebastien Thill.
However, they were brought back to ground a few days later when Belarus claimed a 2-0 win on home soil.
Recent form: LLLLWL
Recent form (all competitions): LLDLWL
Team News
The talking point from Spain's team selection was the omission of Chelsea striker Diego Costa.
The controversial forward is serving a suspension and would therefore not be eligible to play in Friday's match, but Del Bosque did say that he was disappointed with Costa's recent on-field disciplinary issues at Chelsea.
With Costa out of the fold, Paco Alcacer could replace him up front given that he came on for the striker in the second half of last month's win over Macedonia, while Celta Vigo's Nolito is also in contention for a spot in the team.
Real Madrid duo Sergio Ramos and Dani Carvajal have withdrawn from the squad this week, which opens up spots in defence for Del Bosque.
For Luxembourg, Chris Philipps returns to the team after serving a suspension for the match against Spain, while Maurice Deville and Aurelien Joachim are expected to lead the line for the away side on Friday.
Spain possible starting lineup:
De Gea; Juanfran, Pique, Nacho, Bernat; Cazorla, Busquets, Isco; Silva, Alcacer, Mata
Luxembourg possible starting lineup:
Joubert; Harush, Philipps, Chanot, Schnell, Janisch; Payal, Mutsch, Krogh Gerson; Deville, Joachim
Head To Head
The match-ups between these two sides are not great reading for Luxembourg as they have suffered defeats in all five of their games against Spain, with their previous meeting in this tournament being the only competitive match between them.
In all five of the fixtures, Luxembourg have not managed to score a single goal, while Costa recorded his first international strike in a 4-0 thumping win for Spain in their Group C meeting last October.
Luxembourg's head coach Holtz played in a 2000 meeting between the two sides when Spain grabbed a 1-0 win thanks to a Gaizka Mendieta goal.
We say: Spain 2-0 Luxembourg
Looking at the form book alone, it seems as though this Group C clash will be a fairly routine win for Spain, and what better way for them to snatch a place in the Euro 2016 finals on home soil. Football can sometimes throw up bizarre results, but considering that Luxembourg cannot qualify for the next phase, they are unlikely to have that extra bit of desire to get a result. It should be a relatively comfortable outing for the Spaniards.
