After a slow start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, Spain have righted the ship a little and Vicente del Bosque's side will know that they can put themselves in a strong position with three points on Saturday night. La Furia Roja welcome Group C minnows Belarus to the Bernabeu looking to continue their forward momentum.

"Renewing the squad has been constant work, it's always required to replace where necessary"

- Vicente del Bosque

Since their lacklustre defence of their World Cup title in Brazil this summer - exiting in the group stages - the talk of a fading light and a dying 'golden generation' has been on the lips of critics and fans alike ever since. Del Bosque has repeatedly insisted, however, that a steady evolution - not an immediate revolution - is the way forward, with the slow integration of younger players coming through the ranks. "The litmus test is Belarus," he told a news conference this week. "It's important because it's three points for qualification. Renewing the squad has been constant since we took over seven years ago. It's always required to replace when necessary. Now the same thing is happening. What's needed is like in 2008, the new people to come in, consolidate and take us to new heights."

Spain have had a slow start to their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign, after a disappointing second group fixture loss to Slovakia, 2-1. They bounced back last month, however, with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Lithuania. That, combined with a 5-1 win over Macedonia, sees them sit comfortably in second place, three points behind group leaders Slovakia. Del Bosque will urge his side to seek out the summit of the group before the new year, and he will hope they can set about doing just that with three points over Belarus on Saturday night.

For Belarus, the trip to Spain comes at perhaps the wrong time as they recently parted company with their manager Georgi Kondratiev. His resignation does not come as a surprise, as Belarus have only managed to pick up a single point in their opening three fixtures - courtesy of a draw against Luxembourg. Andrei Zygmantovich comes in on a temporary basis as a caretaker manager as they Belarus FA look for alternatives.

Belarus have been disappointing for a while, and now ex-manager Kondratiev has commented on his side's problems, suggesting they won't play any differently now he has left, because they are "lagging behind the leading countries". After shipping eight goals and conceding three so far in qualification, it is hard to argue against that declaration. Should Belarus fail to pick up anything from the trip to the Bernabeu it would only a point for Luxembourg for them to finish the year at the foot of Group C.

Missing the likes of Xavi and Xabi Alonso following their retirements and having injury-enforced absences of Andreas Iniesta, David Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Diego Costa and Dani Carvajal, Del Bosque will continue to freshen his squad with new blood. Nolito, Isco, Alvaro Morata, Bruno Soriano and Jose Callejon have all been handed opportunities to impress.

For the visitors, Sergei Kornilenko is likely to lead the forward line, while manager Zygmantovich is expected to go with a more defensive-looking 4-5-1 formation in an effort to contain Spain's advances.