Valencia know score, says Emery

Valencia manager Unai Emery is well aware of the importance of his side’s Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday.

Valencia need a victory over their Bundesliga opponents at the Mestalla to keep any hopes of progression out of Group E, which they share with Genk and Chelsea.

Emery knows the situation that faces his side, and also the strengths of visiting Leverkusen after losing 2-1 to Robin Dutt’s men on October 19 at BayArena.

“They have the capacity of being very offensive or very defensive. Since they go through with a tie they could be defensive in the beginning and be strong with that approach,” he said.

“We have to know how to penetrate their defence if they decide to play like that and we have to be patient. The match can change, they are also very good at counter-attacking, while on defence so at any moment if they want to score and win the match, they can be very offensive.”

“We have to be smart enough to read this and play accordingly. It will be a long 90-minute game because the game can change drastically a few times.

“We are expecting everything because, if we think they are only going to do one thing, they can change and catch us unprepared.”

Valencia striker Roberto Soldado said his team-mates have been treating the match ‘as if it were a final’, and has every confidence they will succeed.

“Yes, it’s true that tomorrow we can only play to win, as if it were a final. That’s how we’ve approached this match and we are conscious of its importance and we are sure that we are going to achieve a positive result,” he said.

“We are very confident in our own ability, and we think that (Tuesday) will be a great day for us because we are convinced that we will achieve victory.”