Manchester City will be out to underline their status as Europa League favourites on Thursday night when they face Juventus at Eastlands and we reckon they'll prove just too quick for the Old Lady.

Go back a few years and there's no way Man City fans would have expected their side to beat the two-time European champions and Italian giants but now in this current era it's probably safe to say they'd be disappointed with 'only' a draw.

The big-spending hosts are a best price of 1.65 with Bwin to pick up all three points in this Group A encounter while Bet365 offer 5.00 about an away win, with the draw available at 3.75 with Betsson.

Juventus are the team more in need of a victory though after they dropped two points in their opening fixture against Lech Poznan at the Stadio Olimpico whereas City claimed a comfortable 2-0 triumph at Red Bull Salzburg.

That said, if you offered Luigi Del Neri a share of the spoils he'd be foolish to turn it down when you consider their difficult start to the campaign at home and in Europe.

Juve entered the Europa League at the third qualifying round having finished a lowly seventh by their standards in Serie A last season and were made to battle hard by both Shamrock Rovers and Sturm Graz to book their place in the group stages.

They looked on course to beat Lech Poznan - albeit unconvincingly - as they led 3-2 heading into stoppage time only for Artjoms Rudnevs to complete a stunning hat-trick to give the Polish champions an unexpected point.

Del Neri is concerned about his leaky defence, which has looked pretty suspect so far this season, and Man City certainly have the firepower to capitalise.

Following their 4-2 victory over Cagliari at the weekend, Del Neri put it simply: "In defence we still made too many mistakes and we must improve."

They've shipped nine goals in five Serie A games, which include a 3-1 defeat at home to Palermo and an eventful 3-3 draw with Sampdoria, and they currently find themselves midtable with just seven points.

On the plus side Juventus are the leading scorers in the division with 12 but they'll have their work to find a way through a defence which has conceded just four goals in their 10 games in all competition.

Roberto Mancini is of course under real pressure to bring silverware to Eastlands this season and following last week's Carling Cup exit, the Italian must take this competition very seriously indeed.

Poor results against Blackburn and Sunderland in the Premier League have already dented Man City's title hopes but Saturday's 1-0 victory over previously unbeaten Chelsea, which ended the Blues 100% record in the process, will no doubt give them belief they can challenge for honours.

Mancini's men have kept seven clean sheets this season and we reckon Bwin's 2.95 about them beating Juventus to nil is worth snapping up.

Meanwhile Liverpool will be looking to put their domestic problems to one side when they travel to Holland to take on FC Utrecht.

The Reds have taken just six points from six games in the Premier League, making it their worst start to a top-flight season in 18 years, while last week's Carling Cup exit at the hands of League Two Northampton must go down as one of the most embarrassing results in their history.

Roy Hodgson knew it would be a tough job when he took over at Anfield this summer but it's perhaps proving even more difficult than he initially imagined and needs the club's supporters to show plenty of patience as he strives to get things right.

He did well to find the positives in the 2-2 home draw with Sunderland at the weekend, saying: "I am seeing very good signs that the bedding-in process is moving along nicely."

But to most observers, this was another disappointing display in which they were devoid of ideas and creativity.

By contrast, their form in Europe has been good, winning all five games so far including a 4-1 victory over Steaua Bucuresti in their group stage opener two weeks ago but we're expecting them to be troubled by one of Holland's up and coming stars on Thursday night.

Ricky van Wolfswinkel has been linked with a move to the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Everton due to his eye-catching performances in Utrecht's Europa League qualifying games and this represents another opportunity to put himself in the spotlight.

The 21-year-old striker has bagged six goals in Europe so far this season including a superb hat-trick to knock-out Celtic in the play-off round while he's also the joint top scorer in the Dutch Eredivisie.

Van Wolfswinkel is 12/5 to score anytime with Paddy Power and that's just too tempting to ignore.

PICKS:
Man City to beat Juventus to nil at 2.95 (bwin).
Ricky van Wolfswinkel to score anytime at 3.25 (Bet365).