Spain vs Ukraine U21 EURO semi-final preview: Where to watch, kick-off time, starting line-ups

Spain play Ukraine in the second UEFA European Under-21 Championship semi-final at Steaua Stadium, Bucharest on Wednesday.

What do you need to know?

Eight days after a 2-2 draw at Giulesti Stadium involving two much-changed teams, these rivals reconvene at Steaua Stadium with Spain seeking their ninth final appearance and Ukraine their first. In their Group B encounter, it took a last-minute Abel Ruiz strike to preserve Spain's unbeaten run – now 14 games and counting – and Santi Denia's men subsequently had to dig deep for an extra-time win over Switzerland.

Adrián Bernabé's impact off the bench against the Swiss begs the question whether Denia will shuffle his midfield pack. As for Ukraine, they have attacking midfielder Dmytro Kryskiv suspended, but Mykhailo Mudrik’s return in the quarter-final brought an extra layer of menace to a team who produced arguably the performance of the quarter-final round in their comeback win over France – and don’t want to stop there.

Road to the semi-finals

Spain
Qualifying Group C winners: P8 W8 D0 L0 F37 A5
Finals Group B winners: W3-0 vs Romania (Bucharest), W1-0 vs Croatia (Bucharest), D2-2 vs Ukraine (Bucharest)
Quarter-final: W2-1aet vs Switzerland (Bucharest)
Finals scorers: Abel Ruiz 2, Sergio Gómez 2, Juan Miranda 2, Álex Baena 1, own goal 1

Ukraine

Qualifying Group H runners-up: P10 W7 D2 L1 F20 A11
Play-offs: W5-3agg vs Slovakia (L2-3a, W3-0h)
Finals Group B runners-up: W2-0 vs Croatia (Bucharest), W1-0 vs Romania (Bucharest), D2-2 vs Spain (Bucharest)
Quarter-final: W3-1 vs France (Cluj-Napoca)
Finals scorers: Georgiy Sudakov 3, Olexiy Kashchuk 1, Danylo Sikan 1, Bohdan Viunnyk 1, Artem Bondarenko 1, own goal 1

Starting line-ups

Spain: Tenas; Victor Gómez, Paredes, Pacheco, Miranda; Blanco, Álex Baena; Sancet; Rodri, Abel Ruiz, Sergio Gómez

Ukraine: Trubin; Sych, Batahov, Talovierov, Vivcharenko; Brazhko, Bondarenko; Nazarenko, Sudakov, Mudryk; Sikan
Suspended: Kryskiv

View from the camps

Santi Denia, Spain coach: "Nobody is discovering Mudryk at this stage. He’s a great footballer and the whole Ukraine team are playing a great tournament. You have to value the work of their coach.

"We have to work well on all aspects – attack, defence, transition, set-plays. We have to produce a near-perfect match to be able to get to the final. We’ll need help with Mudryk and to defend as a team. Whichever 11 we go with, we’re going to have a lot of work but we’re going to have a lot of talent and we’re going to have the option to reach this final."

Ruslan Rotan, Ukraine coach: "We aren't lacking motivation. We do have problems with recuperation, with only two days' recovery, which is significant, and we've also had to travel. The climate here is different – it's hot here whereas [in Cluj] it was fresh. It's difficult but we are going step by step, growing along the way. We know it will a very tough game as Spain are a very strong team.

"Everyone analyses them and learns from their game. Everyone who plays them has to suffer. Tomorrow's match is an opportunity for both teams. It's a dream. Everything will be decided on the pitch."