Valencia boss hails Swansea´s style

Valencia head coach Miroslav Djukic praised Swansea’s style of play ahead of the UEFA Europa League clash between the teams.

The English Premier League side sit a point behind Valencia in Group A ahead of Thursday’s clash and claimed a 3-0 victory in Spain in the previous meeting.

Djukic, who is under pressure with his team sitting 11th in La Liga, said it was important for his side to keep possession.

“Swansea are a team who like to play football the proper way, with style,” he said.

“They like to play with the football but suffer a lot when they don’t have possession.

“They are a team who work hard and are well prepared to play football the way (Michael) Laudrup wants to play.

“They struggle without the ball and we will have to restrict them but they are very dangerous in attack.”

Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves echoed his coach’s thoughts and said it would be important for his team to put Swansea under pressure.

“We know the style that Michael Laudrup likes his teams to play. He likes to keep the ball and they have a lot of high-tempo and hard-working players,” he said.

“Swansea also have a lot of players who played in La Liga and if you let them play football they will make it very difficult for you.”

Valencia were reduced to 10 men in the 10th minute of the clash between the sides in September when Adil Rami was sent off.

Alves described the campaign as being a ‘complicated’ one but believes his team can claim three points at the Liberty Stadium.

“It has been a complicated season for us and when we played Swansea at home it was a complicated moment for us,” the Brazilian goalkeeper said.

“We had players sent off during the game and that made it even more difficult for us, now we are here in the UK we have come here to compete and to try and win the game which we believe we can do.”