VALENCIA • Francis Coquelin has warned his former club Arsenal that Valencia are ready to exploit their fragility on the road and pull off another stirring fightback in the Europa League semi-final today.
The Spanish LaLiga side, who are owned by Singaporean billionaire Peter Lim, trail 3-1 ahead of the second leg at the Mestalla.
Coquelin, who spent a decade at Arsenal from 2008 to January last year, was suspended for the opener at the Emirates Stadium.
The midfielder believes Valencia are primed to punish Arsenal's soft underbelly - a woeful away record.
Under Unai Emery, appointed in the summer, they have eight losses and only a single clean sheet in the Premier League all season.
Declaring that "away from home, they are a different team", Coquelin said: "They drop the intensity a little bit. That means we can score goals and do damage, especially with the attack that we have."
Valencia have a superior head-to-head record with Arsenal at home, winning their past two meetings. And they have shown themselves capable of a comeback this season too, having trailed Getafe and Real Betis in the King's Cup before beating both clubs to reach the May 25 final against Barcelona.
Pinpointing their away goal as key, Coquelin added: "The team is ready to make a comeback. The goal we scored there helps us a lot.
"It will be a difficult game but, with the quality we have, we believe we can do it. The fans always help us a lot at home."
The 27-year-old left Arsenal after struggling to get first-team football under former manager Arsene Wenger and he has been revitalised this term, having been handed a more creative role by Marcelino.
The Frenchman said: "It would be a very special feeling to win against Arsenal, especially because I couldn't play in the first game."
Like Arsenal, Valencia's hopes of Champions League qualification will rest on winning the Europa League, as they sit three points adrift of fourth-placed Getafe in LaLiga, with two games left.
Chelsea, meanwhile, could extend their Europa League record to 17 unbeaten matches as they host Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, with the semi-final clash tied at 1-1 after the first leg.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
VALENCIA V ARSENAL
Singtel TV Ch110 & StarHub Ch214, tomorrow, 2.55am
CHELSEA V FRANKFURT
Ch112 & StarHub Ch213, tomorrow, 2.55am
Good afternoon, and welcome to St. Mary's for Mauricio Pochettino's post-match press conference after the 2-1 defeat at Southampton. Dele Alli made his return to training this week, and was put straight into the starting line up by Pochettino, while Kyle Walker-Peters was handed a rare start at right-back with Kieran Trippier missing out through injury and Serge Aurier rested.
The tactic that frustrates a lot of Spurs fans arguably the
Saswa eyes SPL title glory. Ex-Singapore international Saswadimata Dasuki, who won the Malaysia Cup with the Lions in 1994, has been appointed the new head coach of Home United. The 49-year-old
Saswa eyes SPL title glory - theworldnews.net
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists Manchester United vibrant attacking approach since he replaced Jose Mourinho is "the way Man United are supposed to play".. The Norwegian has led the club to four
Undisputed 6/7/2019 Live HD - First Things First LIVE | Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe on FS1 The SPLASH BROTHERS! 5,137 watching Live now
Uncompromising teaser: Kevin Harvick, Kyrie Irving, Tim
Soccer Football - Euro 2020 Qualifier - Group E - Croatia v Azerbaijan - Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia - March 21, 2019 Croatia's Domagoj Vida, Ivan Perisic and Borna Barisic in action with Azerb
Croatia vs. Azerbaijan - Football Match Summary - March 21
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell. Mohamed Salah's success last season means he has attracted more attention from opponents in the current campaign, often being double-marked. PHOTO: AFP.
Klopp cool on Mo's dry spell - theworldnews.net
Football: Delighted Klopp tells players to stay focused LONDON (AFP) - Jurgen Klopp refused to get carried away with the growing expectation that Liverpool can lift the league title for the first time in 29 years saying his players must stay focussed after they thrashed Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday (Dec 29).
Delighted Klopp tells players to stay focused - The 1873 TV
David de Gea is determined to prove he remains a world-class goalkeeper and will start against Huddersfield Town on Sunday, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has confirmed. The under-fire Manchester United
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer sets out stance on David De Gea ahead of
The FIFA/Coca World Ranking - Find out where your team are in the latest standings.
FIFA rankings - Belgium overtake France at No 1 Gibraltar on rise
tv5.espn.com/football/belgium/story/3678879/fifa-rankings-belgium-overtake-france-at-no-1-gibraltar-on-rise
Brazil, one of only two non-European sides in the top 10 along with Uruguay, remain third, followed by Croatia and England. Gibraltar, who only became FIFA members in 2016, rose eight places to their best ranking of 190th thanks to their Nations League wins in Armenia and at home Liechtenstein.
Every major nation's highest and lowest FIFA ranking since
LYON (France): Barcelona were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Olympique Lyonnais in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday as both sides remained undefeated in this season's
Football News -The challenge is different for Liverpool. New favourites Liverpool face two stiff tests of title credentials have the burden of being branded favourites in an English
Latest JURGEN KLOPP | The Straits Times
Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup last four March 16, 2019 Huffington News Huffington News Soccer Football - FA Cup Quarter Final - Swansea City v Manchester City - Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Britain - March 16, 2019 Manchester City's Sergio Aguero celebrates scoring their second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS/Toby
Man City come from two goals down to reach FA Cup last four
Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool Klopp's substitute Xherdan Shaqiri's two deflected goals helped the Reds back on top of the league By AFP
Mourinho concedes Man Utd incapable of living with Liverpool
0 comments:
Post a Comment