Europa League 
/ Jaymes Monte / 14 February 2011 / Leave a Comment 
City fans are hoping that the counter won't tick over to 35.
"The Greeks have a 40-year unbeaten record at home in European competition, a run that spans 24 games at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium."
Jaymes Monte previews Manchester City's Europa League game in Greece as The Citizens look to bounce back from defeat in the Manchester derby....
Defeat to Manchester United at the weekend all but ended City's Premier League title aspirations. Thus their most likely chance to bring some silverware to Eastlands this season now lies in the continent's secondary competition.
Roberto Mancini's side are the [5.7] favourites for Europa League glory this season having been the tournament favourites throughout.
Although Wayne Rooney's wonder striker took all the plaudits at the weekend, and rightly so, there were plenty of positives for City to take from the game. They more than lived with the league leaders for large periods of the game and showed plenty enough to suggest that Manchester derbies could be pivotal in deciding the resting place of the Premier League trophy for years to come.
Mancini is likely to be without striker Mario Balotelli and Dutch midfielder Nigel de Jong for the trip to Greece this Tuesday. James Milner is also a doubt having limped off at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Although Aris Thessaloniki are having an indifferent season in Greece's Super League - they sit in eighth place, 29 points behind leaders Olympiakos - their remarkable European record means they command plenty of respect.
The Greeks have a 40-year unbeaten record at home in European competition, a run that spans 24 games at the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium. They've also beaten champions Atletico Madrid twice in the competition helping them to progress from a tough group that also included Bayer Leverkusen and Rosenborg. European minnows they are not.
So it is perhaps a little surprising to see City as short as [1.66] for the win here. The home side are a [6.2] chance but the draw at [4.0] carries most appeal given that the visitors will certainly see that as an acceptable result.
Aris won two and drew one of their Europa League group games managing to shut out the opposition on each occasion and scoring just three goals in the process. City scored just four times away from Eastlands in the group stages and all signals point to this being another low scoring game. Under 2.5 goals is available to back at a healthy [1.88].
With the banner at Old Trafford that counts the years City have gone without a trophy ticking over to 35, supporters in the sky blue half of Manchester will be keen to see their club win any sort of silverware this season. The Europa League remains their biggest chance of doing so, so must be taken seriously.
Recommended Bet;
Back Under 2.5 goals @ [1.88]
Jaymes Monte previews Manchester City's Europa League game in Greece as The Citizens look to bounce back from defeat in the Manchester derby.......
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