Mikel Obi is aware of the quality of the Swiss team, referring to the fact that they had eliminated Tottenham Hotspur from the competition as a signal for a tough match ahead of Thursday’s Europa League clash.
Basel defeated Manchester United 2-1 in 2011 European Champions League, a result which confined United to the lower tier Europa Cup that same season.
This season, Basel won Bundesliga side Bayern Munich 1-0 in the first leg of the round of 16, however went on to lose at the Allianz Arena.
“They must be a good team to have reached this stage of the competition. We won’t take them for granted. They will be as tough as any other team could be. The fact that they beat Tottenham in this competition speaks volumes of how good they are,” Mikel told MTNFootball.com.
“But we are going for victory. This is the only trophy we are contending for now. And I am upbeat we will come out victorious.”
Another Nigerian and Chelsea FC forward Victor Moses, is also optimistic about his team’s chances of a good outing in Switzerland.
“Landed ahead of tomorrow’s massive Europa League game come on #Chelsea,” Moses tweeted.
