Spanish sides go head to head in Euro showdown
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Valencia entertains Atletico Madrid in the Mestalla Stadium on Thursday night as the two surviving Spanish sides in the Europa League go head to head for a place in the semifinals.
While Valencia has had to battle its way through the group stage, Atletico Madrid entered the competition in the knockout stages after its failure in the Champions League.
However, with an upturn in form since the start of 2010 Atletico will be looking for further cup success to give the fans something to cheer about.
Quique Sanchez Flores' team has already booked a place in the final of the Spanish 'Copa del Rey' although the Spanish FA has been unable to set a date for that game due to confusion in the fixture calendar.
Valencia meanwhile looks to have all but secured third place in the BBVA Primera Liga and with it a return to the Champions League for next season. Having said that, Valencia is 21 points behind joint leaders Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, demonstrating that this season's Primera Liga is more unbalanced in favor of the big two than ever before in its history.
Both Valencia and Atletico disappointed at the weekend. Valencia crashed to a 3-0 defeat away to struggling Zaragoza, while Atletico was beaten 3-2 by Real Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu.
It is now 11 years since Atletico has beaten its neighbors and last Sunday the club gave no indication that the run was about to come to an end.
Valencia was without striker David Villa for the Zaragoza game, Villa was rested after suffering a slight head injury, but returns to play on Thursday.
He hopes a packed ground will help give Valencia an advantage. "A full Mestalla should serve to inspire us. We've always enjoyed playing this competition and with each round you get through, the excitement grows. We all know we have the chance to do something important this season," said the Spain international.
Both sides will be at full strength for a game that promises tension not just this week, but in next week's return leg in Madrid.
