Levante make their European debut at Fir Park on Thursday night but Motherwell midfielder Nicky Law is not fooled by their lack of experience on the continental stage.
While Motherwell were surprise entrants in the Champions League qualifiers, the Valencia-based club were making waves of their own in Spain with their best season of all time. Levante topped La Liga in late October after a seven-game winning streak and also beat Real Madrid before just missing out on the Champions League with a sixth-placed finish.
They have kept the bulk of their team for the Europa League play-off, and Law said: "They were quite similar to ourselves last year and maybe over-achieved a bit. But they had a good result at the weekend, 1-1 at home to Atletico Madrid, the team that won this tournament last season. That tells you their quality but we feel we can do well here against any team."
Law is a fan of Spanish football and has seen his opponents play on television.
"If it's on I'll always watch it," the former Sheffield United and Rotherham player said.
"I saw a couple of Levante's games last season and they played really well against Barcelona and Real Madrid.
"It's an amazing league, some people say better than the Premier League. But they have probably the two stand-out teams of the world there and these held their own against them last year, so that tells you everything you need to know."
Law was the subject of a failed bid from an npower League One club earlier this month but the 24-year-old has already shrugged off the development.
"When I heard the bid was rejected, there were no problems, that was it for me, we move on," he said.
"I'm really happy here, it's been great on and off the field. I'll just carry on as normal and keep enjoying it. In a successful team, you'll always get bids."
Source: PA
