The club have suffered four straight league defeats to Fulham, Manchester United, West Brom and Sunderland. Is Thursday’s tie coming at a bad time?
It has been a tough season for Stoke City as they attempt to balance to tough learning curve of balancing domestic and European football.
But over the past month their only wins have come in the FA Cup, and their last Premier League points were gained in a 2-1 win away to Blackburn Rovers on January 2.
So what has gone wrong?
It is difficult to pinpoint. Losing at Old Trafford is almost to be expected, but losses at home to West Brom and Sunderland are far tougher for the fans to digest.
Ryan Shawcross’ consolation added a bright footnote to their 2-1 loss to Fulham on Saturday, in a game they never looked like winning.
In the process, Stoke have slipped to 13th in the Premier League and are on 30 points.
They remain nine points above the drop-zone and should be in no danger of relegation, but it shows how Stoke have suffered in the past month that they are looking over their shoulders, and not upwards.
After all this was supposed to be an exciting month, and it still will be, but on current form they face a real task if they are to upset Spanish side Valencia.
Valencia sit third in La Liga, albeit 18 points behind leaders Real Madrid, but equally have been struggling for form of late.
They won 4-0 against Sporting Gijon at the weekend, but that was their first win in seven league matches, with their previous one coming on December 18.
So it is not all bad for Stoke, they are notoriously bad travelers to England, and the Britannia will be rocking on Thursday night.
Tony Pulis will have to cajole his side and tell them to forget their Premier League form.
They have not been thrashed lately, just edged out in very competitive games. Have the players had one eye on their Europa League glamour tie?
It often happens, Tottenham struggled in the league last season as they progressed in the Champions League, and an element of that will be creeping in.
Stoke need their players with European experience, Crouch, Woodgate, Pennant, to all step up to the plate, to make history of their own, and give the club a chance going into the second leg at the Mestalla.
Whatever happens in this tie, they must not forget that the league is their bread and butter.
If they do not get their act together and start stringing together wins, they will soon find themselves in real trouble, and their European adventure will become viewed as being the most unwelcome of distractions.
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