The Swans will head back on the European Tour bus tomorrow at the Liberty when they welcome Petrolul Ploiesti to the Liberty Stadium for the final qualifying round before the group stages of the competition.

Victory over two legs against their Romanian opponents will put them into the next stage of the competition where they will be joined by all the other qualifiers as well as some drop outs from the Champions League. And with Lyon and Celtic both losing last night and one of PSV and Milan joining the Europa League it could be a lucrative progression for the Swans and all important to their continued growth.

I would wager a bet right now that when the draw was made everyone reached for the Google button to find out more about our opponents who won the Romanian Cup last season and finished third in their domestic league. And those google searches probably lead us to believe that we will progress through to the next round (I certainly can't see anything else) but we have to guard against complacency and ensure that we get that progress and not slip up at this hurdle.

Our opponents are undefeated in five games this season and put Vitesse Arnhem out in the last round against the odds so certainly we know it won't be easy and we have to shore up a little after the weekend defeat to Manchester United. However, we won't be coming up against a world class player like Van Persie on Thursday so that will help us and a home advantage in the first leg gives us the chance to take a massive step into the next round before we head off to Romania next week.

In the last round of the competition, the Swans progressed with ease with a 4-0 aggregate win over Malmo - a scoreline achieved in the first leg but the manager warns it will not be as easy this time round “People can’t expect another 4-0. Even against Malmo, it was tight in the first half before we pulled away.

“And normally ties are settled in the second leg — that’s why I always prefer to play the second leg at home.

“Plus, the big difference in this game is that I already knew some things about Malmo and Swedish football in general and I don’t know much about Ploiesti.

“I didn’t even know Cosmin was the manager there until I read about it after the draw.

“He was a right-back and a very good player for us at Getafe. He had a lot of experience with the Romania national team and scored in both games against Bayern Munich.

“So at least I know what to expect if they play like he played.”

Laudrup was referring there to Cosmin Contra who will sit in the opposing dugout having played for Laudrup at Getafe and was part of their run to the quarter finals of this very competition when they almost beat the mighty Bayern Munich to progress.

Team wise I can very much see a full strength Swans on Thursday and I would expect to see Pablo and Bony come into the side for a start having come off the bench on Saturday. Making way is likely to be Jose Canas after his man of the match performance last weekend and Nathan Dyer who is reported to be struggling with an injury ahead of the game.

Scorewise, I think the Swans will take at least a two goal advantage out with them next week and that should be more than enough to secure progression and more stops for the European bus.

Photo: Action Images

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