Fulham take on German champions VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday in the home first leg still trying to come to terms with their astonishing 4-1 second leg victory over Juventus in the last round.
The journey that began against Vetra Vilnius last July and that has already involved 14 matches and a victory over holders Shakhtar Donetsk has been a heady one for Fulham fans and players unused to such adventure.
"They've done very well to get where they are, we've done very well to get where we are so it's a meeting of fairly similar clubs and I'm looking forward to it," said Fulham coach Roy Hodgson, who has turned the club round completely after taking over when relegation seemed likely two years ago.
Defender Aaron Hughes said that everyone around the club was buzzing. "You get to this stage and you do start to think that anything can happen," he said.
"Obviously it gets tougher the further you go but we haven't got this far through luck - we're here on merit."
That was Liverpool's route too and for fans who watched them win the Champions League in 2005 and reach the final in 2007, the Europa League is something of a comedown.
Valencia, who won the UEFA Cup under Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez, should welcome back Spain striker David Villa after he sat out Saturday's 3-0 defeat at Real Zaragoza.
He spent a night in hospital after receiving a blow to the head in last week's 1-0 win over Malaga and was ordered to rest.
Atletico, who beat Valencia 4-1 in the league a month ago, are without in-form winger Jose Antonio Reyes and defender Juan Valera, who both picked up muscle injuries in Sunday's 3-2 defeat at city rivals Real.
