As his side prepare for the victory that would propel them into the UEFA Europa League round of 32 for the first time, midfielder Lucian Sânmărtean insists FC Vaslui must "show no mercy in their decisive game" at FC Zürich.
In the other final Group D encounter, meanwhile, coach Eduardo Reja feels that "the right intensity" can inspire S.S. Lazio to victory against group winners Sporting Clube de Portugal and pip the Romanian outfit to the punch.
Thanks to their goalless draw against Lazio on matchday five Vaslui's fate lies in their own hands. An away win against Zürich, who are already out of the competition, will take Viorel Hizo's charges through to the knockout stage at the expense of the Serie A side, but Sânmărtean is warning against complacency.
"This game will not be very different to the one in Piatra Neamt because we will play to win," said the 31-year-old midfielder. "I don't think that Zürich can afford to take the game lightly even if they have no chance of qualifying."
Zürich may be bottom of the section and out of the reckoning but Sânmărtean, who has played in all five of his side's group matches, knows the Swiss outfit will be no pushovers. This, after all, is the same side that held them to a 2-2 draw in Romania.
"I don't think Zürich have any individuals to fear but as a team they are very good," he explained. "In our first match I was surprised to see a team from Switzerland play such modern football.
"They are young and enthusiastic but we must play with confidence and show no mercy in this decisive game. For us, the final match of the group stage is historic. We are just one step away from the club's best ever performance so everybody is excited."
Should Vaslui fall short of victory Lazio can qualify at their expense by bettering their result. Though they face the group leaders, Sporting have already qualified and therefore may prove a softer touch than the side that beat then 2-1 in Lisbon. Not that coach Reja is expecting any favours.
"Our main target is to win the match, because only a victory will keep us on course for the knockout phase," he said. "Nobody here thinks it's going to be an easy game. We must play the right match and wait to see what happens in Zurich. The key will be our intensity, and ensuring Sporting don't score first. We definitely can't afford for that to happen."
The Biancocelesti have not been helped by injury problems which have deprived them of their first-choice goalkeeper Federico Marchetti (thigh) and his back-up Alessandro Berardi (elbow) but Reja is not looking for excuses. "I'm not in the habit of complaining about missing players. We have [Albano] Bizzarri back, he has fully recovered [from a hand injury] and will play.
"He deserves to because he has been waiting for a long time. UEFA has also allowed us to add [Juan Pablo] Carrizo to the list. He played pretty well against Lecce on Sunday, despite not having played competitively for several months, so I think we are in safe hands either way."
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