Will Fernando Torres be given a chance for Spain tonight?

The Chelsea striker fluffed his lines against Italy - Will he start against Ireland?

Spain's formation against Italy caused a lot of debate - choosing to play without a striker.

Cesc Fabregas played furthest forward and repaid manager Vincent del Bosque with a goal, but the World Champions could only draw 1-1.

In truth Spain looked a far better side when an out and out striker, Fernando Torres, was brought on.

Torres' movement gave the Spaniards a more natural shape, and against a side as defensively vulnerable as Ireland, Spain really should go for it.

There is no need to pack the midfield to counter Keith Andrews and Glenn Whelan, Spain need to score goals and win big. Even so we cannot rule out Del Bosque using the same tactics again.

The question is whether their gameplan will and should involve Chelsea's Fernando Torres.

His movement was good against Italy, but that was where it ended, his finishing was profligate when he needed to be clinical.

With Athletic Bilbao's 29 goal striker Fernando Llorente sitting on the bench, Spain certainly have options, and then there is Sevilla's 15 goal Alvaro Negredo.

It depends whether Del Bosque feels Torres playing up against Premier League defender Richard Dunne is an advantage to the Spaniard or not, a player he has faced regularly, or whether Dunne and co will feel more comfortable against him as opposed to Llorente who they have never faced before.

Ireland face an almighty task. A loss to Spain will see them getting ready to pack their bags for the flight home. They will have fancied their chances of beating Croatia, and if they had they would have come into this game as group leaders, and the players would have had an entirely different mindset.

They themselves face questions about their strikeforce- do they play Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle? Surely it would be a mistake not to drop one? A 4-4-2 would leave them far too open, and you imagine the astute Giovanni Trappatoni will realise this.

For Torres the decision is a big one, it will be a big show of faith in him, which many believe he is undeserving of. But if Spain can get him firing, they will have re-discovered a major weapon in their battle to hold onto their tag as European Champions.

Should Spain start Torres, Llorente, both or neither tonight?

Dan Coombs

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Dan Coombs is a writer who is keen to embrace the internet revolution. He first started writing for us in June 2011 and commenced his new role as Sports Editor in February 2012.

As a trained journalist he has met famous faces from Mr T to Boris Johnson. He once featured in an England World Cup music video too, but it did not make the charts.

He grew up wanting to be a Formula 1 driver, but it looks like this dream has passed him by. Instead, he hopes you enjoy reading his writing on our site, as we seek to debate the day's sporting hot topics.