Swansea City defender Angel Rangel has conceded that it will be difficult for the Welsh club to overcome Valencia in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Welsh outfit open their group campaign with a tough trip to Spain this week, but Rangel is hopeful that the Premier League side can begin the competition with three points.

"We have been given what is seen as the toughest game to start with, but it's something we are looking forward to," Rangel told the club's official website.

"Valencia are the favourites in the group, but if we stick to the way we play and do that well, then we always have a chance against teams.

"They had a bad result on the weekend, while we had a good point against Liverpool. Hopefully that will give us confidence going into this game."

Rangel came through the lower leagues in Spain before joining Swansea in 2007.