Stoke City boss Tony Pulis is delighted with their plumb Europa League draw with Valencia.

Pulis had expressed the hope that City would be paired with a top club from Western Europe in the Round of 32 Draw in Nyon today and he got his wish when they were handed a glamorous tie against the former winners of the UEFA Cup from Spain.

He told Stoke's website: "It's a great draw for us. Valencia are one of the top teams in Europe with great traditions in the European competitions.

"I was desperately hoping that we would get a draw against a big club where our supporters wouldn't have to travel too far because they have been looking forward to an opportunity such as this one where they can go to the away leg.

"They will be delighted. They can all have a great Christmas and then they've got eight weeks to save up for the trip to Spain. It would be fantastic if we could take a large army of fans over there and show them what this Football Club is all about."

He added: "The first game at home will be another great European night, another full house with a fantastic atmosphere. It's an exciting prospect.

"It's been a remarkable achievement to get this far in the competition because we have had the toughest Group and had a lot of travelling to do. But this draw has made it all worthwhile, it's what we all imagined when we qualified for Europe."