City draw strength ahead of Lech game

The top two in Group A clash on Matchday 3, with Manchester City FC looking to end a run of draws against Polish sides when KKS Lech Poznań visit England for the first time in over 26 years.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition.

• City's record in eight games against Polish sides reads W3 D4 L1 (W1 D2 L0 in Manchester). The first was the 1969/70 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup final, when the Blues beat Górnik Zabrze 2-1 in Vienna.

• City have drawn their last four games against Polish opponents, their previous win coming on 31 March 1971 when they beat Górnik 3-1 in a Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final replay staged in Copenhagen.

• Lech's only previous encounter with English opposition came against Liverpool FC in the 1984/85 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round; they lost 1-0 in Poznan and 4-0 at Anfield.

• Lech also lost both legs against eventual winners Aberdeen FC in the 1982/83 Cup Winners' Cup second round (2-0 away and 1-0 at home). The Scottish side were managed by future Manchester United FC boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

Match background
• City are five matches unbeaten in European competition, winning four in a row before the 1-1 draw with Juventus on Matchday 2.

• City are eight matches unbeaten at the City of Manchester Stadium in European competition since 14 August 2008, and a 1-0 loss to Denmark's FC Midtjylland in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round.

Team facts
• City have scored 96 goals in 60 games in UEFA club competition.

• Lech's Artjoms Rudņevs, Aleksandr Kerzhakov of FC Zenit St. Petersburg and Bayer 04 Leverkusen's Patrick Helmes remain top scorers in the group stage following Matchday 1 hat-tricks.

• City manager Roberto Mancini spent the bulk of his career as a forward with UC Sampdoria and S.S. Lazio, winning Cup Winners' Cups with both. Having taken the Italian Cup as a coach with Lazio and ACF Fiorentina, he won three successive Serie A titles – and two more cups – with FC Internazionale Milano from 2004 to 2008. He replaced Mark Hughes as City boss in December 2009.

• Lech boss Jacek Zieliński – not to be confused with the former Poland defender of the same name – had an unremarkable playing career as a midfielder, but worked his way up as a coach to lead some of his nation's top clubs. Hired in June 2009, he guided Lech to their first Ekstraklasa title in 17 years in his first season with the club.