Five days after beating Manchester United for the first time in 29 years, Bolton Wanderers can take a giant step towards qualifying for the knock-out stage of the Uefa Cup by defeating Aris Salonika at the Reebok Stadium this evening. Ending November with three points against Greek opponents in group F would cap a remarkable month for the Barclays Premier League club who were relegation favourites four weeks ago.

Since then, Gary Megson, the manager who was booed by Bolton fans when he took his seat in the home dugout for the first time on October 26, has watched his side draw with Aston Villa, West Ham United and Middlesbrough and beat United 1-0 to climb out of the bottom three in the Premier League for the first time this season. “I was asked on Saturday whether we had to play out of our skins to beat United and United had to play poorly,” Megson said. “If we continue playing the way we are playing, we can beat anyone.”

It is not just at home that Bolton have been raising eyebrows. Few observers gave them a chance when they travelled to Bayern Munich two weeks ago but a 2-2 draw at the Allianz Arena was one of the best results in the club’s history. In Germany, Megson’s team gave as good as they got against world-class players such as Franck Ribéry, Luca Toni, Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski, so they should be confident of success this evening against less accomplished opponents – even if Megson is likely to field an understrength team in preparation for Sunday’s league game away to Liverpool.

“We are in the position where we expect good results whether we change our team or not,” Megson said. “The Manchester United result was great but you could have brought a camera here a month ago and seen exactly the same. Never once did I think we had a problem with the spirit or the working environment. I’ve felt that from day one we could and should have won every game since I have been here.”

Stelios Giannakopoulos, the Greece midfield player, is set to get a rare chance to impress Megson tonight. The 33-year-old is desperate to play some part against his countrymen having had to settle for one Carling Cup start in a frustrating season. The inactivity of Giannakopoulos has attracted the attention of a number of Premier League clubs and Reading are in pole position to sign him for £1 million when the transfer window opens in January.

“If you ask any player in the world if they are happy when they are not playing they will say no,” Giannakopoulos said. “But it is up to me to turn it around. I am settled here and I have no problems. The new manager came in and wants to give every player an opportunity to play. I am focused on my team and I will try to do my best. Then if something happens we will see.”

Giannakopoulos, who remains a hero in Greece for the part he played in his country’s European Championship victory in 2004, has warned his teammates not to underestimate their opponents. “Aris are a great team and they have a great manager,” the midfield player, who spent six years at Olympiacos playing under Dusan Bajevic, the Aris coach, said. “We have to be 100 per cent ready for them. But we are 100 per cent confident at the moment.”

Aris lost for the first time this season in the Greek League on Saturday – 2-0 away to Levadiakos – and both their previous trips to England have ended in 5-1 defeats. Chelsea beat them in 1971 and Ipswich Town were too good for them in 1981.

How they line up

Bolton Wanderers (possible; 4-3-3): A Al-Habsi – N Hunt, A Meïté, A O’Brien, R Gardner – G McCann, D Guthrie, K Nolan – S Giannakopoulos, N Anelka, E-H Diouf.

Aris Salonika (possible; 4-4-2): K Chalkias – Neto, K Vangeli, A Papadopoulos, R Guiaro – Javito, K Nebegleras, Nacho, S Koke – F S Huerta, V Ivic.