Key Takeaways
- Guéla Doué may miss the clash after struggling to recover from a recent virus.
- Valentín Barco is definitely out due to suspension and has not played since the last round.
- The French club are now relying solely on this competition for European qualification next season.
RC Strasbourg Alsace face a difficult task when they clash with Rayo Vallecano in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final on Thursday evening.
Manager Gary O’Neil may have to cope without defender Guéla Doué. The Ivory Coast international picked up a virus before the meeting with Mainz. Although he returned to training at the start of this week, he has not recovered completely. O’Neil insists he will not take any risks with the centre-back’s fitness.
Meanwhile, Valentín Barco is definitely unavailable. The Argentine has remained sidelined since the return fixture against Mainz. In any case, the left-back would miss out through suspension for this tie. The defender is strongly linked with a summer transfer to fellow BlueCo club Chelsea.
The French side are desperate to reach the final in this competition. Their hopes of European football next season now rest solely on the Conference League after OGC Nice knocked them out of the Coupe de France last week.