Valencia travel to Wales on Thursday with their place in the Europa League knockout phase assured and a matter of pride to play for against a Swansea side looking to lay down new landmarks in their European history.
With two matches remaining in the 12 group, round-robin format, Tottenham, Salzburg, Esbjerg, Ludogorets Razgrad, Fiorentina and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are also certain to be in the hat for the round of 32, as the long journey to the May 14 final in Turin continues.
Swansea are on the brink of playing in the spring phase of a European competition for the first time in club history, a far cry from their last continental appearance when they were hammered 10-1 on aggregate in the 1991-92 Cup Winners’ Cup, by Monaco. A Swansea win at the Liberty stadium will seal their status in the next round although should FC Kuban Krasnodar and Swiss club Saint Gallen draw, the Welsh club advance regardless of their result against Valencia.
Swansea winger Roland Lamah expects a tough match against a team he is familiar with following his time playing in Spain with Osasuna. “I know Valencia very well from my time in La Liga. They are a very strong side and they will want to confirm their qualification on Thursday. “There are a lot of similarities between Valencia and ourselves and I think it will be a great game because both teams love to pass the ball and retention is a big part too.
Wigan will keep their adventure going if they can defeat Zulte Waregem and already qualified Rubin Kazan avoid defeat at home to Slovenia’s NK Maribo.
With two matches remaining in the 12 group, round-robin format, Tottenham, Salzburg, Esbjerg, Ludogorets Razgrad, Fiorentina and Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk are also certain to be in the hat for the round of 32, as the long journey to the May 14 final in Turin continues.
Swansea are on the brink of playing in the spring phase of a European competition for the first time in club history, a far cry from their last continental appearance when they were hammered 10-1 on aggregate in the 1991-92 Cup Winners’ Cup, by Monaco. A Swansea win at the Liberty stadium will seal their status in the next round although should FC Kuban Krasnodar and Swiss club Saint Gallen draw, the Welsh club advance regardless of their result against Valencia.
Swansea winger Roland Lamah expects a tough match against a team he is familiar with following his time playing in Spain with Osasuna. “I know Valencia very well from my time in La Liga. They are a very strong side and they will want to confirm their qualification on Thursday. “There are a lot of similarities between Valencia and ourselves and I think it will be a great game because both teams love to pass the ball and retention is a big part too.
Wigan will keep their adventure going if they can defeat Zulte Waregem and already qualified Rubin Kazan avoid defeat at home to Slovenia’s NK Maribo.