Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is preparing for a Europa League outing which "feels like a Champions League game" against Porto.

City were paired with reigning champions Porto - while neighbours Manchester United were handed an equally tough assignment against Dutch giants Ajax in a draw littered with unusually high-profile names.

Porto, who also won the 2004 Champions League, host City in the first leg before a return fixture at the Etihad Stadium and Mancini admitted it is as tricky a test as he could have imagined.

"Manchester City against Porto feels like a Champions League game, it is probably the toughest game we could have had," he said.

"I have come up against them as a player before and also a manager, they are a very good team and a very strong club in Europe.

"They are used to playing in Europe, in a great stadium. Not too many years ago they won the Champions League and also won the Europa League last year. So they are a strong team.

"It will be a hard match for us. We know this game will be difficult, but also it will be difficult for them. It is a good game for the fans, a big team coming to Manchester, and we will be looking forward to it."

While many expected the demotion to Europe's second tier would be a blow to the Manchester pair's prestige, neither fixture would be out of place in the knockout phase of the higher-profile competition.

City and Ajax both found themselves in the Europa draw after being edged out of hard groups - City finishing behind Bayern Munich and Napoli and the Eredivisie side missing out to Lyon and Real Madrid.

Both United and Porto, though, were bettered by less fancied opposition, with Sir Alex Ferguson's side third behind Basle and Benfica and the Portuguese club edged by Apoel Nicosia and Zenit St Petersburg.

United boss Ferguson initially described dropping into the competition as a "penalty", but later suggested he had been misunderstood.

After today's draw in Nyon, he joined defender Chris Smalling in welcoming the meeting with Ajax, with the first leg at the Amsterdam ArenA.

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 disappointment, 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."

Another of the big-name Champions League fallers, Primera Division side Valencia, will face Stoke, with the first leg at the Britannia Stadium.

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.

The remaining fixtures in the round of 32 are Salzburg v Metalist Kharkiv, AZ Alkmaar v Anderlecht, Steaua Bucharest v FC Twente, Lokomotiv Moscow v Athletic Bilbao, Udinese v PAOK Salonika, Braga v Besiktas, Wisla Krakow v Standard Liege, Hannover v Club Brugge and Legia Warsaw v Sporting Lisbon.