City have an excellent record at Eastlands in European competition, having only lost once since moving to their new ground in 2003. That defeat was a surprise one against FC Midtjylland in 2008-09, but since then they have looked comfortable in front of their own supporters on the European stage.
This tie is the first meeting between the two sides, and this second leg is the first time City have hosted a Greek club.
Aris’ record away from home in Europe is not too impressive; they have won two of their five away games in this year’s competition both by one-goal margins. Goals have been hard to come by for them, as they have only scored 14 times in their 23 games in the league this season, however in Europe they have fared a little better scoring 13 goals in their 11 games.
Tough Trip Awaits Winners
Whilst both managers will be firmly focused on this match, they know that whoever is victororius will face a tricky task against either Besiktas JK or Dinamo Kiev in the last 16. And they will face the daunting task of a trip to Turkey or Ukraine for the first leg of the tie.
City are aiming to eclipse their best performance in the competition this season by getting past the quarter-final stage. The Blues have reached the quarter-finals on two occasions, in 1978-79 and 2008-09, but were unable to beat Hamburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach respectively.
With the strength in depth that City have, they will be confident they have enough to reach this year’s final in Dublin on May 18.
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Manchester City
City are still battling for trophies on three fronts, although manager Roberto Mancini has all but admitted defeat in the race for the Premier League. That leaves the Blues with two cup competitions to concentrate on (the FA Cup and Europa League) as they go in search of their first trophy in 34 years.
They will be without Irish goalkeeper Shay Given, who is suffering from a shoulder injury, and has been to see a specialist in London this week to assess the damage and determine whether he will need surgery to fix the problem.
Winger Shaun Wright-Phillips is doubtful for the game with the back problem that kept him out of last weekend’s victory over Notts County.
Possible starting XI: Hart; Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta; Vieira, Barry; Silva, Y Toure, Kolarov; Tevez.
Aris
This game will be Aris's 50th UEFA club competition game and they will be hoping to progress to the last 16 for the first time in their history.
Salonika drew 0-0 with Atromitos at the weekend and are currently sitting in ninth position in the Greek Super League, however they have struggled to score goals all season which could cause them problems at Eastlands where City have only conceded two goals in four games in the competition.
This will place more pressure on strikers Sergio Koke and former City player Nery Castillo, who were both rested at the weekend, to score the goals to keep them in the competition.
Possible starting XI: Sifakis; Vangeli, Guiaro, Lazaridis, Michel; Mendrinos, Faty, Prittas, Toja; Koke, Castillo.
Prediction
After a convincing win over Notts County in the FA Cup last weekend, City will be keen to continue this form and get past Aris. The draw in Greece was hardly a surprise given the good home form in Europe of Aris, but their away form is less impressive and City should take their place in the last 16 of the competition.
Man City 2-0 Aris Thessaloniki 
