Europa League

Published on Thursday 23 February 2012 02:42

Stoke manager Tony Pulis defended his squad selection and insisted he has not given up hope of reaching the last 16 of the Europa League ahead of tonight’s second-leg clash with Valencia at the Mestalla.

Last week’s 1-0 defeat in the first match at the Britannia Stadium left the Potters with a mountain to climb against a team steeped in European tradition.

And the estimated 4,000 fans who have travelled to Spain will surely feel their hopes of victory have not been improved by Pulis’ decision to leave the likes of Ryan Shawcross, Matthew Etherington, Jon Walters and Peter Crouch at home.

The Welshman blamed a combination of injury and fatigue rather than a preference for Sunday’s Barclays Premier League clash against Swansea, where his side will look to arrest a run of four straight league defeats.

Pulis said: “We’ve left a few behind but the team I’ll pick tomorrow is what I think is a very strong team. Every player that will start will be a full international, there are three captains of their countries and we’ll be giving it a go. We think Valencia are the best team we’ve played in Europe so far, no disrespect to [Dynamo] Kiev or Besiktas but we believe they’re a level above them. We know it’s going to be a difficult game against a side full of quality but we’ll do our best and that’s what we always do.”

Pulis expects the atmosphere in the 55,000-capacity Mestalla to be raucous, and sent a message to the Stoke fans to concentrate on supporting their team and enjoying the experience.

“The ground is a fantastic old ground,” added the Stoke manager. “The atmosphere will be brilliant. We just don’t want there to be any trouble, just enjoy the game and enjoy the occasion.”

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