Valencia face crucial matches

Valencia manager Unai Emery is hoping history does not repeat when his side faces Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Saturday.

The fourth-placed side are eyeing off a spot in the Champions League for next season, but it was the Madrid club who denied Emery the chance to manage in Europe’s illustrious football competition in the 2009/10 campaign, beating them 1-0 in May 2009 to oust them from the top four.

Emery was motivated to ensure they would not allow Atletico to do the same on Saturday, despite Valencia’s six-point cushion from fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao and their 14-point buffer from Quique Sanchez Flores’ side.

“Two seasons ago, Atletico Madrid cost us a lot of points that perhaps kept us out of the Champions League. So we are aware of their threat. We have to act on it,” Emery said.

“At the moment there is a big gap between us, but if we lose tomorrow then we give them new life. A win would make our situation more secure. Atletico are a direct rival team with similar quality to Valencia, and we have to focus only on this game.”

Emery also had one eye on his club’s round-of-16 Champions League first-leg encounter against Schalke 04 on Tuesday.

“We also have to remember that the Champions League – which we play in on Tuesday – is enabled by these opportunities. The Champions League positions are decided by these next few games. The energy has to be there, at the fore,” he said.