Mario Balotelli

Balotelli hauled City back into the first leg when he forced the mistake from Porto defender Alvaro Pereira that led to their equaliser at the Dragao.

The Italian is likely to be City’s dangerman again (6/1 Two or More goals) as Roberto Mancini prepares to send out a similar line-up to the one he fielded in Portugal – with Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero probably on the bench.

And a fired-up Balotelli against a weakened Porto back four, missing the injured Danilo and the suspended Alvaro Periera, could wreak havoc as City bid to knock out the holders.

Porto will put the emphasis on attack as they look to overturn the 2-1 first-leg deficit and coach Vitor Pereira knows his side will probably have to score at least two goals at the Etihad Stadium.

His most potent weapon is Hulk, the Brazilian striker who set up Varela for the opener last week, and the striker possesses a phenomenal record for grabbing goals away from home.

This season has not been as prolific as last term for the pacy forward, when he scored 14 of his 31 domestic and Europa League goals away from home.

But he has hit the back of the net in three of Porto’s last five away trips and could be worthy of support in the anytime goalscorer market at 9/4.

City have shown vulnerability in the early stages of their European ties, conceding early goals against Napoli and Villarreal in the Champions League while also going behind after 27 minutes of the first leg.

So Hulk to score the first goal (8/1) but Balotelli to score the last goal (4/1) could be a more rewarding play on those markets while Porto to be leading at half-time may also turn out to be profitable.

FC Porto/Draw is available at  12/1 in the Half-time/Full-Time market, but beware that City could catch the visitors on the break if the holders are going for a late winner.

And with City unbeaten in 15 European home fixtures – 12 wins and three draws since a 1-0 Uefa Cup first-round loss against FC Midtjylland on 14 August 2008 – FC Porto/Manchester City should certainly be covered at 25/1 in a smaller-stake bet.

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Juventus

The 20-year-old striker joined the Eastlands club from Inter Milan this summer for a fee thought to be in the region of £24m, as City continue to build a squad capable of breaking the duopoly at the top of the Premier League.

They now have a squad that appears, on paper, to be the match of the majority of the top European teams, and will hope to progress to the latter stages of the Europa league this term.

Racism in English football seems to be, by and large, a thing of the past, with the days when bananas were thrown onto the pitch and ‘monkey chants’ heard in the stands resigned to history, but a few European teams still have a problem with a minority of supporters.

Balotelli was subjected to racist chants when Inter played Juventus at the Olympic Stadium last season and the club’s chief executive, Jean-Claude Blanc, hopes that there will be no repeat performance this time around.

“This will be the chance for the supporters to demonstrate that the standard has been raised,” he said. “Hopefully fans will behave the way they should be behaving and supporting the team and only this.

“Supporting your team is to support your team, and not to make remarks of a racist nature toward other players. We will be extremely demanding and intransigent about this.”

City will be confident of progressing to the knock-out stage of Europe’s second tier competition as they have been grouped with Austrian outfit Salzburg and Polish side Lech Poznan, as well as Juve, who will provide the toughest challenge for Roberto Manicin’s men.

City fans are desperate for some silverware and would love to win the Europa League but reports suggest that Mancini’s number one priority this season is to get the club into next year’s Champions League with a top-four finish in the Premier League (Barcelona 13/5 – Champions League outright).

They signalled their intent with a crushing 3-0 victory over Liverpool on Monday night and have amassed enough quality players over the past two years to cover injuries that are bound to occur throughout the long season.

With Liverpool under new management and Arsenal looking in good form, the race for the Premier League could be as open as it has been for years, with the new ‘top five’ likely to take points off each other throughout the campaign (City 13/2 – Premier League outright).

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The 19-year-old has been out of favour at the San Siro despite club president Massimo Moratti stating that they would not want to lose the player.

City (5/1 to win the Premier League) look the most likely to sign the youngster as manager Roberto Mancini worked with the player when he coached at the Italian giants.

Balotelli has stated that he would only stay at Inter if he was guaranteed regular first-team football.

He said: “I expect an important year for my career. Now I’m on vacation, I am resting and recharging for a good start to the season. If you want to know more, ask my agent Mino Raiola.

“(President Massimo) Moratti? It is nice that the president considers me an important part of the club, but I need to play. I cannot be important and not play,” he added.

Balotelli has not had the easiest of times at Inter after having a turbulent relationship with former boss Jose Mourinho the player also has had mixed reactions from the club’s fans.

The Italian had positive things to say about both Manchester clubs and admitted that he is unsure where he will be playing football in the future.

He said: “Roberto Mancini? He’s a great coach, I debuted in Serie A with him because he is a great friend.

“If he and (Sir Alex) Ferguson want me, it means I’m not as bad as I thought.

“United is a great club. They have not seen the real Balotelli, for sure I need to learn and achieve more goals. I want to win the Golden Ball in 2011. As for the future, I always say I don’t know,” he added.

New Inter boss Rafa Benitez will be looking to continue the outstanding season the club had last season after winning the a domestic double and the coveted Champions League title.

The San Siro club are keen to keep hold of their key players with the likes of Wesley Sneijder being linked with a move away from the Serie A champions.

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