Porto prepare for tough City test

Holders FC Porto will look to make the best of a tough draw as they take on fellow former UEFA Champions League participants Manchester City FC in the UEFA Europa League round of 16.

Previous meetings
• The sides have been paired for the first time in UEFA competition although they did meet in a 2006 pre-season friendly at the City of Manchester Stadium. Porto won 1-0 courtesy of Adriano's 43rd-minute strike.

• Porto have played 28 games against English clubs in Europe with the record W6 D8 L14 (W6 D6 L2 at home).

• Porto have welcomed City's neighbours Manchester United FC four times, recording two wins, a draw and a defeat. At Old Trafford they drew 1-1 in 2003/04 and 2-2 in 2008/09, losing in 1977 and 1997. Their ten other visits to England have all also ended in defeat.

• City's only previous meeting with Portuguese opponents came in the quarter-finals of their triumphant 1969/70 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup campaign, when they drew 0-0 at A. Académica de Coimbra before Tony Towers scored the only goal of the tie in the 119th minute at Maine Road.

Match background
• Both teams finished third in their respective UEFA Champions League groups; Porto lost out to APOEL FC and FC Zenit St Petersburg in Group G, while FC Bayern München and SSC Napoli took the first two places in Group A ahead of City.

• Porto are unbeaten in seven European home games – five wins and two draws – since a 1-0 defeat by Sevilla FC in last season's UEFA Europa League round of 32 second leg. They have drawn their last two home matches.

• Porto's two most recent UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League campaigns, in 2002/03 and last season, ended with them winning the tournament; they have not lost a two-legged tie since a 2-0 aggregate defeat by Liverpool FC in the 2000/01 quarter-finals.

• City are playing in the round of 32 for the third time in four seasons; they eliminated FC København in 2008/09, going on to reach the last eight, and beat Aris Thessaloniki FC last season before bowing out to FC Dynamo Kyiv in the last 16.

• Roberto Mancini's men have won only one of their last seven European away games, a 3-0 victory at Villarreal CF in this season's UEFA Champions League group stage in a run of two draws and four defeats.

Team facts
• The second leg of this tie will be City's 50th UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League game; they have conceded 47 goals.

• Mancini captained UC Sampdoria and scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at Porto in the 1994/95 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals; his side had lost 1-0 at home but progressed with a penalty shoot-out success.

• As a coach Mancini has come up against Porto six times with the record W2 D2 L2 (W0 D1 L2 away).

• Mancini's S.S. Lazio faced Porto in the 2002/03 UEFA Cup semi-finals, losing 4-1 on aggregate.

• His FC Internazionale Milano side overcame Porto 4-2 on aggregate in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League round of 16. The sides met again in the following season's group stage, Porto winning 2-0 at home but losing 2-1 at San Siro.

• Nigel de Jong and Vincent Kompany took on Porto with Hamburger SV in the 2006/07 UEFA Champions League group stage; De Jong played in a 4-1 defeat in Porto while Kompany featured in Hamburg's 3-1 home loss.

• Gaël Clichy and Samir Nasri played in the Arsenal FC side that eliminated Porto 6-2 overall in the 2009/10 UEFA Champions League round of 16; Nasri scored in Arsenal's 5-0 second-leg victory in London.

• Clichy, Nasri and Kolo Touré also took on Porto in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage, Arsenal winning 4-0 in London; none of them featured in Porto's 2-0 home win.

• Touré played in both games as the sides met in the 2006/07 group stage; Arsenal won 2-0 at home and drew 0-0 away, a match in which Clichy also appeared.

• Nasri was in the Olympique de Marseille team defeated 2-1 at Porto in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Sergio Agüero took on Porto four times in the UEFA Champions League with Club Atlético de Madrid. Porto won their 2008/09 round of 16 tie on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate draw; in the 2009/10 group stage, Agüero's Atlético lost 2-0 at home and 3-0 away.

• Porto coach Vítor Pereira learned his craft with the club's Under-15 team, subsequently working as head coach at AD Sanjoanense, SC Espinho and CD Santa Clara before becoming André Villas-Boas's assistant – and then successor – at the Estádio do Dragão.

• As a forward City manager Mancini won 36 caps for Italy, and Serie A titles – and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup – with both Lazio and Sampdoria. As a coach, he won three Italian titles with Inter before joining City in 2009; his first trophy in Manchester came in last season's FA Cup.

Round of 16
• The winners of this tie will take on Legia Warszawa or Porto's Liga rivals Sporting Clube de Portugal in the round of 16 on 8 and 15 March, playing the second leg at home.

• Neither side have met either of their potential opponents in UEFA competition.

Competition statistics
• An updated version of the UEFA Europa League Statistics Handbook is available here:
http://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/news/newsid=1750416.html