Man City, Atletico eye spot in last 32
Paris, Nov. 30: Manchester City and holders Atletico Madrid are among the sides seeking to wrap up qualification to the last 32 when the Europa league resumes on Wednesday.
Five teams are already assured of their passage from the group stage — Zenit St Petersburg, Stuttgart, CSKA Moscow, BATE Borisov, and FC Porto.
The first two from each group qualifies with the teams that finish third in their respective Champions League groups entering the fray in February for a competition which climaxes in a May 18 final in Dublin’s revamped Lansdowne Road stadium.
The Champions League octet will definitely include defending Scottish Premier League champions Rangers, Spartak Moscow and FC Twente from Holland. Man City have picked up seven points from their first four matches to leave them second on goal difference to highflying Polish outfit Lech Poznan, who defeated Roberto Mancini’s men 3-1 last time out, in Group A.
The Poles host Juventus, in third on four points, with City welcoming strugglers Salzburg from Austria. Spanish World Cup winner David Silva is optimistic that City can clinch a knockout berth. “We’re at home, so it’s down to us to win the game on our own turf. We’ve got to be positive, as three points on Wednesday should see us get out of the group,” he told the club’s official website. He added: “But I think we’re doing OK so far. If it was not for the bad luck we encountered in the last game, we would probably be on top of the group. We’re not far away, and it’s in our hands to do well.” Mancini too is hopeful his cluster of millionaires can dust off Saturday’s 1-1 draw against Stoke with victory against Salzburg, who are without a win in their last six European games, a run that includes a 0-2 loss to City in their Group A opener.
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