WAPINZANI WA MAU NA CITY WAJULIKANA LIGI NDOGO EUROPE-BY FAROUQ KARIM

City face holders Porto, United get Ajax

The draw for the last-32 of the Europa League has tied Manchester City with last year's winners FC Porto while Manchester United will play Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam.

GettyImagesFC Porto lift the Europa League

Porto, who won the treble under Andre Villas-Boas last season, are back in the competition after they failed to get past APOEL or Zenit in the Champions League group stages. With star striker Hulk attracting attention from big-spending City, manager Roberto Mancini will get a chance to view the Brazilian up close as he travels to Portugal for the first leg.

Reflecting on City's Porto meeting, football administration officer Brian Marwood told Sky Sports News: ''It's amazing, we've gone from the hardest group in the Champions League to getting the holders of the Europa League. It's a big game and we'll be looking forward to it.

''One thing we haven't had to endure is going through the early rounds where you play a lot of games. Porto are attractive opposition and the current champions. They are games we are looking forward to and are excited about.''

Alex Ferguson's Premier League champions and Champions League finalists from last season will meet Dutch giants Ajax with the first leg in Holland.

The United boss initially described dropping into the competition as a ''penalty'', but later suggested he had been misunderstood. But, he joined defender Chris Smalling in welcoming the meeting with Ajax.

He said: ''I have never played them before in competitive football in my managerial career. They are a good team and we are looking forward to it.''

Smalling added: ''(Exiting the Champions League) was a massive disappoinment, but then you look at the calibre of teams that are in there (Europa League). We have drawn Ajax, they have a lot of history. That will be a good test. If you are in there, a lot of the teams will be kicking on. Whoever wins the competition will be a good team.''

England's third representative Stoke City were drawn against Spanish side Valencia, who were beaten 3-0 by Chelsea on the last Champions League matchday.

Lazio meet Atletico Madrid in another eye-catching fixture that will see one side fall well short of their expectations in the competition.

The three other drop-in sides from the Champions League - Viktoria Plzen, Trabzonspor and Olympiacos - have been matched with Schalke, PSV Eindhoven and Rubin Kazan respectively.

Games to be played on Feb 16 and 23

FC Porto	v	Manchester City
Ajax	v	Manchester United
Lokomotiv Moscow	v	Athletic Bilbao
FC Salzburg	v	Metalist Kharkiv
Stoke City	v	Valencia
Rubin Kazan	v	Olympiakos
AZ Alkmaar	v	Anderlecht
Lazio	v	Atletico Madrid
Steaua Bucharest	v	FC Twente
Viktoria Plzen	v	Schalke
Wisla Krakow	v	Standard Liege
SC Braga	v	Besiktas
Udinese	v	PAOK Salonika
Trabzonspor	v	PSV Eindhoven
Hannover	v	Club Brugge
Legia Warsaw	v	Sporting Lisbon

Games to be played on March 8 and 15

FC Salzburg or Metalist Kharkiv	v	Rubin Kazan or Olympiakos
Legia Warsaw or Sporting	v	Porto or Manchester City
Steaua Bucharest or FC Twente	v	Viktoria Plzen or Schalke
Wisla Krakow or Standard Liege	v	Hannover v Club Brugge
Stoke v Valencia	v	Trabzonspor v PSV Eindhoven
AZ Alkmaar v Anderlecht	v	Udinese or PAOK
Lazio or Atletico Madrid	v	SC Braga or Besiktas
Ajax or Manchester United	v	Lokomotiv Moscow or Athletic Bilbao