Valencia vs Zenit St.Petersburg preview - Valencia coach Nuno wary of Zenit St Petersburg threat
Posted Wednesday, September 16, 2015 by PA
Valencia coach Nuno Espirito Santo knows that Zenit St Petersburg forward Hulk will pose a big threat on Wednesday in the teams' Champions League Group H opener.
However, the Portuguese tactician does not want his players to lose sight of other dangerous players in the Russian side.
Brazilian forward Hulk, who will lead Zenit's attack at the Mestalla stadium, warmed up for the encounter by scoring two goals in his country's international friendly victories over Costa Rica and the United States.
"We know Hulk perfectly," Nuno said on his club's official website. "He has a lot of quality and great power when he has the ball.
"But it's not just Hulk that Zenit have and we have studied their team and know they have other good players.
"We know our opponents, their players and their style. They will be very competitive.
"We respect them."
Valencia are back in the Champions League after a two-year absence.
Los Che finished fourth in La Liga last season and reached the group stages thanks to a 4-3 aggregate play-off win over AS Monaco.
"It has been a long journey," Nuno said. "We are playing in the best competition in the world and we are very excited.
"We've played a lot of games to reach this competition, many of which took place at the Mestalla.
"The Mestalla stadium has always helped us and we hope to have a packed stadium tomorrow in order to lead us to a victory."
Nuno is looking forward to facing compatriot Andre Villas-Boas, who has been in charge of Zenit since March 2014 and led the club to win the domestic title last season.
"Andre and I are friends," Nuno said. "We have talked a lot about football, but in this game he is my opponent."
Valencia celebrated their first win of the season, a 1-0 triumph at Sporting Gijon on Saturday, to remain unbeaten in La Liga.
However, Los Che have had their worst start to La Liga in 16 years and lie eighth in the standings.
Valencia have never lost at home to a Russian team while Zenit will be looking to halt a nine-game winless streak against Spanish sides.
Zenit failed to progress past the group stages last season but did reach the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
Lyon and Gent are the other teams in Group H.
Zenit are third in the Russian Premier League and six points adrift of league leaders CSKA Moscow after drawing 2-2 against them on Saturday.
The visitors have no injury concerns.
Valencia are without injured goalkeepers Diego Alves and Mat Ryan, with third-choice Jaume set to start.
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