Del Bosque’s number 9 dilemma

Spain's final friendly match before Vicente del Bosque announces his definitive squad in May for the European Championships will lend little to preparations for its opponents at the finals — Venezuela (Wednesday, 9.30pm on TVE1) is hardly of similar stylistic stock to Italy, Ireland and Croatia — but it is proving instructive in the debate over who is going to provide the goals in Poland and Ukraine. David Villa is sidelined after fracturing a shinbone in December and is not certain to be fit in time.

However, Spain's record scorer hopes to be available for selection: "When I got injured, I said that it was my goal to make Euro 2012 and help Barcelona at the end of the season. And I am getting more optimistic about it every day as it's going very well," Villa said after having two screws removed from his leg earlier this month.

With seven goals in qualifying, and 51 in 82 games overall, Del Bosque will doubtless risk taking Villa, even with a view solely to the knockout phase. Fernando Llorente, the only available striker currently in sparkling form, is the designated substitute, an effective plan B against teams that sit behind the ball, throttling Spain's tiki-taka stylings. Roberto Soldado is the only other forward in the squad against Venezuela after Álvaro Negredo's withdrawal through injury, but his early season form has dipped and he has not played at international level since 2007.

Fernando Torres, in desperate straits at Chelsea and omitted from the initial squad, didn't receive a call from Del Bosque even as cover for the absent Sevilla striker. Barring a spectacular run-in with his club, for which he makes increasingly limited appearances, it is unlikely the hero of Vienna 2008 will be called upon.

Del Bosque, therefore, looks set to turn to his midfield wealth in search of a short-term answer, and may carry the plan through to Gdansk if it proves successful. Based on Barcelona's fluid front line, it is a ruse the Marquis has used before, at Real Madrid: "We played often with Guti and Raúl, without a fixed striker, and we played very well. I recall an away match we won against Roma. We gave them a lesson, playing between the lines. Now I have players like Cesc, Silva, Iniesta... players cut from the same cloth who are very good at this function. It relies on having players who get into the box from the second line with the quality to finish. We have players who understand perfectly what this kind of soccer is about."

After naming his squad for the finals, Del Bosque has three warm-up matches to tweak his formation, against sensible opposition in Switzerland — the only side to best the Spain coach in a meaningful competitive match — and Austria, which will defend furiously, much as Ireland surely will. The third match is yet another nod to Spanish Football Federation's bulging coffers, a pointless meander past China in Seville.

Another conundrum facing Del Bosque is the center of defense. His latest squad contains two forwards, 12 midfielders and six defenders, of whom three can play in the middle of the backline. Sergio Ramos is likely to be deployed on the right, with Carles Puyol and Gerard Piqué in the middle and Jordi Alba or Andoni Iraola on the left. The sixth part, Álvaro Arbeloa, is comfortable on the right side but hardly offers the dynamism of Ramos. Puyol is expected to retire after the championships and without the hirsute haranguer by his side Piqué often loses positional awareness.

Ramos has acted as center back for Real this season, putting in sterling performances that have led to José Mourinho describing him as a natural in the position. However, with Raúl Albiol not enjoying such eulogies from his boss and few other options emerging in La Liga, Del Bosque's will hope what he has comes through the rest of the season without a scratch.