After winning their WC qualifier against Luxembourg, France will be looking to prove they are now the Europe’s team to beat when they take on Spain.

La Furia Roja have been on a downtrend of late, but they appear to be slowly getting back on track, and this is definitely a great opportunity to restore some of the lost pride.

It is fair to say that France missed an excellent opportunity to win the European Championship title on home soil last summer, and they will attempt to make things right in Russia next year.

Les Bleus first need to secure their place at the tournament finals, but they are definitely on the right track, carrying a three-point advantage into the second part of the campaign.

France allowed no surprises in weekend’s encounter with Luxembourg, recording a 3-1 victory thanks to goals from Olivier Giroud (2) and Antoine Griezmann, with Monaco wonderkid Kylian Mbappe handed his international debut in said game.

The youngster appears to be pushing for a start against Spain, whereas Adrien Rabiot, Florian Thauvin and Christophe Jallet should start as well.

Adil Rami was forced to withdraw due to injury, with Didier Deschamps calling Athletic Bilbao starlet Aymeric Laporte as his replacement.

France have been made 2.40 (7/5) favourites to defeat Spain at Stade de France, and thus return to winning ways on home soil after a 13-match winning run was ended with a goalless draw against Ivory Coast.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Lloris – Jallet, Koscielny, Umtiti, Kurzawa – Kante, Rabiot – Thauvin, Griezmann, Payet – Giroud.

After winning three successive titles at major tournaments, Spain are now going through a rough patch and it is up to new boss Julen Lopetegui to try and get the team back where they belong.

La Furia Roja are unbeaten in seven games since the former FC Porto boss replaced Vicente Del Bosque, with four wins and a draw in five qualifiers a very good record.

Spain also did fairly well in international friendlies, defeating Belgium on the road before sharing spoils with Italy and England.

After hammering Israel 4-1 at the weekend, La Furia Roja head into the France game in good spirits, determined to prove their worth.

It appears that Chelsea striker Diego Costa could miss out having suffered an injury in training, while Asier Illarramendi is expected to be handed his debut.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): De Gea – Azpilicueta, Nacho, Ramos, Alba – Koke, Busquets, Isco – Vitolo, Morata, Pedro.