Valencia Excited By Spurs Clash

Antonio Valencia is looking forward to this weekend’s enticing trip to title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur but admits the encounter will be tinged with frustration for Manchester United.

Valencia played the final eight minutes of United’s 1-0 win over Everton on Sunday – his third consecutive appearance off the bench as he returns to full match fitness following a long-term injury.

The Ecuadorian admits the Reds would love to be in Spurs’ position in the table – in second place with six games to go and still hoping to overhaul Leicester City to become champions.

Instead, the focus for United is on returning to the top four by building on back-to-back league wins, though Louis van Gaal’s side can have a big say in the destination of the title, both at White Hart Lane on Sunday and when Leicester visit Old Trafford at the start of May.

Valencia told MUTV recently: "It'll be exciting for us as we're playing for our place in the Champions League next season. And when you're playing against opponents who are challenging for the title, in the shape of Tottenham and Leicester, they are going to be big fixtures.

"It will be interesting but a little bit sad in a way because we feel that we should be fighting for the title itself. But we have to make sure we keep on this winning run in order to achieve what we need to.

"We know how important historically the Champions League is here, how happy it would make the fans to qualify for that competition again for next season. So the main battle is to get back into that top four."

Having been out of action from October to March with a foot injury that required surgery, Valencia is feeling fresher than he might otherwise have been at this stage of the season, and he's ready to play his part in the run-in.

"I'm really keen to play," the versatile right-sided star continued. "After five months out of action, I'm happy with the way the operation went and overjoyed to be back and available.

"I'm fully recovered and, when I play, it's very important for me to perform well to show how much I like being here and how much I love this team."