Valencia Coach Nuno Santo believes Athletic Bilbao will be affected by the absence of Aritz Aduriz when the sides meet on Sunday.
Aduriz is carrying a hamstring injury and sat out the midweek Champions League defeat against Porto.
“It will affect the routine of their game,” Nuno told a pre-match Press conference, AS reports.
“They have [Iker] Muniain, [Ander] Iturraspe, [Oscar] de Marcos, [Markel] Susaeta, Aduriz…it’s not easy to replace him when the team has been together so long.
“They do have Guilermo and Viguera and others who can do well.
“Athletic have good players and an interesting dynamic. Their offense has changed, they’re now more direct and have had a big drop lately. We have to pressure them.
“They will get stronger, because of their character and quality. They’ve been in two competitions and have prepared for that. Now, they’re only playing one and they’ll have time to prepare better.
“When I started as assistant to Jesualdo Ferreira at Panathinaikos, Ernesto Valverde was at Olympiakos. He’s a good person and I know him well. Praise for him isn’t out of proportion.
“It will be a difficult game against a team with a good staff and their conscience is clear, with balanced work and permanent pressure.
“We want to win and want to do it at Mestalla. Together, we will be strong. We have maximum respect for Athletic.”
