Vicente del Bosque will reportedly reward Alberto Bueno with a Spain call-up and cut Pedro Rodriguez from the selection later today.
Rayo Vallecano striker Bueno grabbed the headlines with his four-goal show in 14 minutes against Levante last month and has continued his prolific form by recently becoming the club’s all-time top scorer in La Liga.
The 27-year-old’s rise to prominence, coupled with Pedro’s lack of game time this season, has led Marca to speculate that the former will replace the Barcelona winger for matches against Ukraine and Netherlands next week.
Elsewhere, Alvaro Morata and Diego Costa will likely join Bueno – who could become only Rayo’s third Spain international after Antonio Guzman and Luis Cembranos – in Del Bosque’s party.
However, the veteran Coach has been forced to reshuffle his midfield in light of injuries to Thiago Alcantara, Javi Martinez, Bruno Soriano, Sergio Busquets, Ignacio Camacho and Ander Iturraspe.
Consequently, Atletico Madrid’s Mario Suarez and defender-turned-anchorman Mikel San Jose of Athletic Bilbao are expected to fill in for the aforementioned sextet, while Sevilla star Vitolo should pip Dani Parejo and Sergi Darder to the last spot.
At the back, Jordi Alba and Juan Bernat should vie for the left flank, while Juanfran and Dani Carvajal have the right side sewn up, with Cesar Azpilicueta considered as a centre-back solution and Valencia teenager Jose Luis Gaya possibly being thrown in.
In goal, Miguel Angel Moya should beat West Ham’s Adrian and Espanyol custodian Kiko Casilla to the role of third-choice goalkeeper behind Iker Casillas and David de Gea.
Predicted Spain squad: Casillas, De Gea, Moya; Alba, Bernat, Gaya, Juanfran, Carvajal, Azpilicueta, Pique, Ramos, Albiol; Mario, San Jose, Cesc, Iniesta, Silva, Vitolo; Bueno, Costa, Morata, Alcacer
