"They are the favorites, but we have a good squad,'' Spain's Virginia Ruano said Friday.
Spain's hopes of a sixth Fed Cup title have been boosted by the absence due to injury of four of Russia's top players - Olympic champion Elena Dementieva, silver medalist Dinara Safina, Anna Chakvetadze and former No. 1 Maria Sharapova, who is recovering from a shoulder injury.
Seventh-ranked Svetlana Kuznetsova and Olympic bronze medalist Vera Zvonareva lead the Russians, who are playing for their fourth title in five years.
Russia captain Shamil Tarpischev has also called on world No. 61 Elena Vesnina and 20-year-old rookie Ekaterina Makarova for the best-of-five series, to be played Saturday and Sunday at the Club de Campo Villa de Madrid.
Tarpischev said he had picked Kuznetsova because she had lived in Spain.
"She knows the mentality here and as she's lived here we can use her as a bit of a spy,'' he said.
Spain's highest ranked player is No. 29 Anabel Medina. The other players are Carla Suarez and Nuria Llagostera.
Medina faces Zvonareva in Saturday's opening singles, followed by Suarez against Kuznetsova.
"Anabel is an experienced player in this competition and I'm convinced we'll be on a good footing,'' said Spain captain Miguel Margets.
Medina is 0-1 in career meetings with Zvonareva.
"She's a real fighter and she runs ceaselessly,'' Medina said.
The pairings are switched in Sunday's reverse singles. If the teams are tied at 2-2, Llagostera and Ruano will team against Makarova and Vesnina in the decisive doubles.
Spain last contested a final in 2002 against Slovakia, while Russia has won three of the last four Fed Cup titles.
Spain was routed 5-0 when they met in the first round in Moscow last year and has managed only one win in five Fed Cup matches against Russia.
A return to its favorite clay surface and the morale boost supplied by Medina and Ruano's Olympic silver in the doubles has given Spain hope of gaining its first victory over Russia in 19 years.
Another factor that may work in favor of the hosts is altitude.
Madrid is Europe's highest capital at 600 meters (1,970 feet) above sea level, high enough to have an effect on the flight of a tennis ball, something the hosts are used to.
Spain, which boasts a 5-5 record in finals, is looking for its first title since 1998.
"This competition is very important to us,'' said Carla Suarez. "We're going to fight to the death.''
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Kuznetsova leads Russia on Fed Cup roster
