Valencia will hope the return of star striker David Villa for Sunday's match against his former club Real Zaragoza will help them avoid the kind of sloppiness that cost them two important points in their Europa League match against Slavia Prague in midweek.

Villa was suspended for the trip to the Czech Republic after being sent off in the first meeting with Slavia, but Valencia looked to be coping just fine without the Spain international as they built a 2-0 lead inside 47 minutes.

Bottom club Slavia, who had won just one of their previous 22 European matches, then lost striker Zdenek Senkerik to a red card in the 49th minute, seemingly making it game, set and match for Valencia.

However, Unai Emery's side failed to hammer home their numerical advantage and kill the game off, and Slavia staged a remarkable recovery to salvage a share of the points with late goals from Petr Janda (79) and Peter Grajciar (82).

Valencia would have gone a point clear at the top of Group B with a victory and taken a big step towards the last 32, but instead they remain in second place, a point behind Lille and level with Genoa - the two sides they must face in their final two matches.

Villa will also be missing for the visit of Lille to the Mestalla as he serves the second of his two-match ban, but the prolific hitman should be available tomorrow as fourth-placed Valencia look to build on their good start to the Primera Division season.

The match will be a special one for Villa, who spent two seasons at Zaragoza before moving to Valencia in 2005 and going on to become one of the best strikers on the planet.

"Time passes quickly, but the memories remain and at Zaragoza I spent two magnificent years, two years that were vital in my sporting career," said Villa, who is currently joint-top of the Primera Division scoring charts on seven goals with Barcelona hitman Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

"I look back and I'm very happy with the memories. With Zaragoza I won my first two titles, I matured a lot as a footballer and I was very happy."

Despite his time at La Romareda, Villa is unlikely to be too familiar with the current Zaragoza side, as only midfielder Leo Ponzio remains of the team that Villa helped to win the Copa del Rey in 2004.

"The team has changed a lot in those five seasons. I've always had a great relationship with Leo and I'm happy that he's doing very well," Villa added in AS.

Valencia go into Sunday's match just a point behind third-placed Sevilla and in fine form having lost just one of their 16 competitive matches this season, winning nine.

Promoted Zaragoza, in contrast, have had an inconsistent time but last weekend's fully-deserved 2-1 win at home against Almeria saw Marcelino Garcia Toral's side move up to 12th place.

The fit-again Raul Goni returns to the Zaragoza fold and young striker Alex Sanchez has also been included in a 19-man squad for the trip to Valencia, but Javier Arizmendi and Jermaine Pennant are out through injury.