PREVIEW-Soccer-Spain wary of Liechtenstein trap

MADRID, June 4 (Reuters) - Spain are wary of taking victory for granted against Group F minnows Liechtenstein in their Euro 2008 qualifier in Vaduz on Wednesday.

Luis Aragones's side are third with 12 points from six games and are just a point short of leaders Northern Ireland, who do not have a game this week.

A win on Wednesday would leave them in one of the two qualification places from the group, and would appear to be the most likely outcome on paper.

Spain have won all three games they have played against Liechtenstein, scoring 11 times and conceding none.

But they have struggled to break down tightly-packed defences during this campaign, and were beaten in Sweden and Northern Ireland despite having dominated those matches.

Spain edged out Latvia 2-0 away on Saturday to claim their third straight win in qualifying, but needed an own goal and a deflected shot to turn their dominance into three points.

''Scoring the first goal is vital. After that we'll see what happens but these games can be tricky,'' midfielder David Albelda told a news conference.

''It is impossible to play attractive football against these types of teams. They will have 10 people behind the ball. I suppose it will be the same as against Latvia with us dominating possession until we can score and open them up a bit.

''The danger is that they score in an isolated moment from a set piece or a counter-attack.'' With Xavi suspended, Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas could move into the creative role in midfield, while David Silva and Joaquin have recovered from knocks and are expected to start on the flanks.

Liechtenstein, traditional whipping boys in such competitions, have had a positive run of late, taking four points from their last two games.

A 1-0 win at home to Latvia was followed up by a 1-1 draw away to Iceland on Saturday, that left Latvia bottom of the pile.

Probable teams: Liechtenstein: Peter Jehle; Michael Stocklasa, Daniel Hasler, Martin Stocklasa, Ronny Buchel, Thomas Beck, Mario Frick, Franz Burgmeier, Daniel Steuble, Raphael Rohrer, Marco Ritzberger Spain: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Carles Puyol, Carlos Marchena, Antonio Lopez; Joaquin, Cesc Fabregas, David Albelda, David Silva; David Villa, Roberto Soldado or Luis Garcia.

REUTERS AM VC2210