Spain and Russia have been paired together in the same group for the second successive European Championships, with the duo also facing each other in the opening match in Portugal four years ago.

On that occasion Spain won 1-0 thanks to Juan Carlos Valeron's second-half strike, but it did not do the Iberian nation much good as neither they nor Russia progressed out of the group.

Aragones' troops are not only expected to get further this time around, but once again they are among the favourites to win the title.

First up for the Spanish are an opponent Aragones knows could be a potential banana skin, but that does not mean the veteran coach will accept anything other than a win.

"No, I would not be happy with a tie at all, of course we want to win and that is what we will try to do," he said about the Group D match in Innsbruck.

"The first game in any competition such as this is a very dangerous match. That does not mean we are willing to draw though, our hope is to win, although of course we know we have a difficult opponent in front of us.

"Their team plays well, they get a lot of players behind the ball and it's difficult to get through them.

"As well as that, they are very fast on the counter-attack."

Spain and Russia have only ever met three times down the years, with the Spanish winning twice and drawing the other.

However, Spain will know all about the threat to that record posed by Russia coach Guus Hiddink, who masterminded their downfall in the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals when he was in charge of South Korea.

Hiddink also knows all about Spain having managed Primera Liga sides Valencia, Real Madrid and Real Betis during a stellar coaching career, and Aragones concedes the wily Dutchman could well have a special plan up his sleeve to stifle the Spanish side, such as man-marking playmaker Xavi.

"It could be the case, Hiddink knows us well and maybe he will man-mark Xavi and obviously we will have to look for other people in attack," said Aragones, who admits the Barcelona schemer is a vital cog in his side.

"I have total faith in Xavi, he is nearly always the one who dictates the game, and he has always played exceptionally well for me.

"For me, Xavi is among the three or four best players in the world in his position."

Russia captain Sergei Semak was giving little away about his side's plans for the match, but did suggest that they would be looking to get men behind the ball and not allow Spain any space.

"I think you will learn about our tactics and positions tomorrow, that all depends on the coach," Semak said.

"But we know that Spain are famous for their improvisation and we need to be playing as a compact group, not allowing too much space for the technically efficient Spanish players."

Many of the Russian squad will be playing in their first major tournament at Euro 2008 with the team having failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup.

At 32, Semak is both the oldest and most-capped player in the squad, but the Rubin Kazan midfielder is confident his less experienced team-mates will not falter on the big stage.

"The mood in the squad is quite calm, the majority of the squad are younger players but they have experience of playing matches at different levels in Europe, so I'm sure that mentally and physically they are in good shape to have a good game."