Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has been left out of the latest Spain squad by Luis Enrique, while Barcelona's Sergio Busquets is "rested".
La Roja play friendlies against Albania and Iceland during the upcoming international break, and Luis Enrique has replaced De Gea with another goalkeeper from the Premier League, Brentford's David Raya.
From the previous squad for the final World Cup qualifiers in November, in defence, Inigo Martinez and Jose Luis Gaya are replaced by Diego Llorente and Marcos Alonso, while Marcos Llorente and Pedri come in as midfield options in place of Busquets and Mikel Merino.
Raul de Tomas and Ferran Torres are selected among the forwards, with no place for Rodrigo, Pablo Fornals or Brahim Diaz.
Speaking at a media conference after the squad announcement, Luis Enrique said that Busquets' omission was merely to keep him fresh. The 33-year-old has played 39 games in all competitions for Barca this season.
"In the case of Busquets, it is a personal decision," he confirmed. "He is the player who accumulates the most minutes and I want to have the best version of the captain for the games in June, and I have decided to rest him.
"He is having a spectacular season."
The Spain head coach also said the two upcoming fixtures should not be treated like friendlies, and challenged his squad to show their "ambition" and "hunger" as the World Cup at the end of the year draws closer.
He added: "Since November, the wait has been long [to play again]. They are not friendlies for the players nor for us because the World Cup is close. It will help me to see the level of the players, their ambition, their hunger."
Spain squad in full:
Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez, David Raya; Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba, Aymeric Laporte, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Diego Llorente, Cesar Azpilicueta, Dani Carvajal; Rodri, Koke, Pedri, Marcos Llorente, Gavi, Carlos Soler; Dani Olmo, Pablo Sarabia, Alvaro Morata, Raul de Tomas, Ferran Torres, Yeremy Pino.
Aguero: City players must adopt Guardiola mentality to rediscover form
Manchester City all-time top scorer Sergio Aguero thinks that the players need to be more like manager Pep Guardiola if they are to continue their golden era.
Aguero's rallying cry came after City's fourth consecutive defeat in all competitions on Saturday, the first time Guardiola has gone this long without a victory in his career.
The Citizens have lost four straight games for the first time since August 2006, when Stuart Pearce was manager of the club and are 11 points behind Liverpool in the Premier League.
But despite their recent run, the Argentine, who 260 times in 390 appearances for City, is confident that his former side can finish the season with more silverware.
"I think City are favourites to win everything, including the league, the [FA] Cup, the Club World Cup and the Champions League," he told Sky Sports News.
"Whatever City has to play for, they'll be the firm favourites. I think it all depends on the mentality they have because it's not easy to always be the favourites."
Last season, City became the first team in history to win four consecutive Premier League titles but, with their form taking a dip and Guardiola out of contract at the end of the season, there is the potential for instability at the Etihad.
But, according to Aguero, their manager is the key to their past and future success.
That frame of mind is understandable, given that Guardiola is the most successful Manchester City manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies – 50% of the major honours in the club's history – with a win percentage of 72%.
"I think City are where they are because Guardiola knows very well how to keep that mentality," Aguero said.
"For me, he's the key man for the club so that the players have the same winning mentality.
"Sometimes it gets difficult to win and it's normal, but Pep's team has been up there since he took charge, and that's something many people don't see.
"I think we have to acknowledge he's the reason his players have a winning mentality. He's strict and he makes the team be consistent every single game throughout the season.
"We should take our hats off because it's not easy to be there with the players every day, especially considering the players we're talking about.
"All the time, he's like, 'come on, we have to keep winning!' Living that every day can get exhausting sooner or later, but he's been doing this for days, months, even years, and I think that's why City are one of the favourites because Pep never rests and he never gives a rest to his players.
"That, for me, is the key to success for any team."
Malacia makes Man Utd comeback after 17 months out
Tyrell Malacia made his injury comeback after a 17-month spell on the sidelines, returning for Manchester United Under-21s against Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.
Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.
The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.
He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.
Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.
Malacia makes injury comeback for Under-21s after 17 months out
Tyrell Malacia made his injury comeback after a 17-month spell on the sidelines, returning for Manchester United Under-21s against Huddersfield in the EFL Trophy on Tuesday.
The Netherlands international has not played since coming off the bench for his country against Croatia in the Nations League semi-final in June 2023.
Since that game, Malacia has had knee surgery twice in an attempt to solve an injury that had proved difficult to manage.
The 25-year-old made 39 appearances in all competitions for United after signing in the 2022-23 season, but has not featured for the first team since.
He played for 45 minutes in Huddersfield and was taken off at half-time, although it was a quiet night for him and he rarely got on the ball.
Malacia's return to competitive action coincided with the day that new head coach Ruben Amorim met some of United's senior players at the training ground.
Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Leny Yoro, Kobbie Mainoo and Toby Collyer were all among the players he saw while doing their individual injury rehab.
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