Dynamo fortress awaits City

FC Dynamo Kyiv have reason for optimism as Manchester City FC come to Ukraine in the UEFA Europa League, looking to go some way to booking a quarter-final place.

Previous meetings
• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA club competition, and this is also City's first game against Ukrainian opposition.

• Dynamo's 18 games against English teams have ended W3 D5 L10 (W3 D4 L2 in Ukraine). They have never won in England, and lost both their previous fixtures in Manchester – against Manchester United FC – without scoring.

Match background
• Dynamo are unbeaten in six European games since a 2-0 loss at FC Sheriff in the UEFA Europa League group stage. They have not lost in six UEFA home matches since a 2-1 UEFA Champions League group stage defeat by FC Barcelona on 9 December 2009. Moreover, they have gone three European fixtures without conceding at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium.

• Without a loss in four European games, City have nonetheless gone three without a continental away win, following a 3-1 defeat at KKS Lech Poznań in the group stage with draws at Juventus and Aris Thessaloniki FC.

Team facts
• This is the only tie in the round of 16 in which neither side have ever played in a UEFA Cup final.

• City's David Silva played at the Valeriy Lobanovskiy Stadium in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup, scoring in a game which Valencia CF won on away goals. He recalled: "It's a difficult place to go to. We got a 1-1 draw so we didn't do too badly. They're a difficult team and at their stadium it's very tough but we're excited about our chances of going through."

• City's Shay Given is one of two Irish players left in the tournament, along with FC Spartak Moskva's Glasgow-born Irish international Aiden McGeady. Both will have extra motivation to reach the UEFA Europa League final, which will be staged in Dublin on 18 May, although a long-term shoulder injury may rule out Given from taking part.

• Ahead of the first leg, Dynamo's Roman Eremenko had been responsible for six assists since the start of the UEFA Europa League group stage, setting up more goals in this season's competition than any other player.

• Dynamo's Artem Milevskiy has been fouled 38 times since the start of the group stage – 15 more occasions than any other player in the competition.

• Dynamo are two goals shy of conceding their 50th in the UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League; this is their 51st game in the competition.

• Yuri Semin is the third coach to lead Dynamo in Europe this season following fellow Russian Valeri Gazzaev and stand-in boss Oleh Luzhny.

• Andriy Shevchenko faced City twice during his time at Chelsea FC, featuring in 3-0 and 6-0 home wins, and scoring in the latter.

• City coach Roberto Mancini took on Dynamo twice as an S.S. Lazio player in the 1999/2000 UEFA Champions League group stage; his side won 2-1 in Rome and 1-0 in Kyiv.

• Former Dynamo star Olexiy Mykhaylichenko was among Mancini's team-mates when he won the Italian title with UC Sampdoria in 1991, while the Soviet Union side that beat Mancini's Italy 2-0 in the 1988 UEFA European Championship semi-finals featured 13 Dynamo players.

• Semin has had little joy in his six previous games against English opponents. While coach of FC Lokomotiv Moskva, his side lost home and away to Leeds United AFC before recording a defeat and a draw against Arsenal FC. He then lost away to Arsenal before drawing at home in his first spell at Dynamo.

• The UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body has provisionally suspended City defender Kolo Touré pending a Football Association (FA) investigation. The FA suspended the 29-year-old on 2 March after the Ivorian tested positive for a prohibited substance.