Aris remain a threat warns Shaun Wright-Phillips

Manchester City winger Shaun-Wright Phillips says they still have much work to do if a place in the last 16 of the Europa League is to be secured.

A 0-0 draw against Aris Salonika last night would appear to give City the advantage going into the second leg at Eastlands next week.

However Wright-Phillips is cautious about their prospects, knowing the Greek side completed the double over current holders Atletico Madrid earlier in the campaign.

He said: "We know how dangerous they can be just from playing them and from video clips. We know how well they defend and how well they break.

"We will need to have our wits about us and that is why we know it won't be a formality. We could have snatched a victory but we will take the draw at the minute."

Former Wolfsburg striker Edin Dzeko could have put the tie out of Aris's reach but squandered a good chance in the first half and then later saw a header turned over the bar.

Wright-Phillips enjoyed the partisan atmosphere at a ground where Aris are unbeaten in 40 years of European competition.

He said: "The crowd are always behind their team no matter what. But now they have to come back to our place and our fans will do pretty much the same thing. So we will see how they deal with it.

"For the size of the crowd they create a great atmosphere. We had to block out the noise - we knew there would be whistling and jeering so we just had to concentrate on what we had to do."

Coach David Platt believes City are now the favourites to meet either Besiktas or Dinamo Kiev in the next round.

But like Wright-Phillips he is refusing to take anything for granted.

He said: "A lot of people will look at it and we are red hot favourites as we play in the Premier League and they are mid-table in their league.

"I have been involved in nights like this before and you make sure you go back and are the favourites for the next round. I think we are the favourites.

"We also know we have not got that away goal. They could come to our place and throw one in from 35 yards. So it is not over yet."

Next up is an FA Cup replay on Sunday against Notts County and Platt expects manager Roberto Mancini to field a strong side.

He said: "The manager takes all competitions seriously. He is in everything to win it. From now on in the FA Cup, the Europa League and the Premier League there won't be any experiments.

"We have a group of players all of whom we feel are capable of helping us win any game."

Mancini will monitor the fitness of James Milner and Nigel de Jong ahead of the weekend.

Milner suffered a hamstring strain following the derby defeat by Manchester United while de Jong has an ankle problem.

The bonus for Mancini was that striker Mario Balotelli made a cameo appearance against Aris - his first match in six weeks following a knee injury. He could now come into contention for a place in the starting line against the League One side.