Premier League giants Manchester United will be travelling to the Volkswagen Arena to face Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg in their final game in Group B of the Champions League. The group is so closely poised that nothing less than a win will do for the Red Devils, if they wish to secure a spot in the knockout stages of the competition.
Louis van Gaal’s side have not lost a game in their last five matches in all competitions and will have to fight hard to take something back from Germany. The Dutch manager also knows that scoring goals have become a huge problem for his side and he will definitely want his front-line to be sharp for this one.
Team News:
The Red Devils currently have eight players out injured including skipper Wayne Rooney, who would surely be a big miss for this one. Apart from the England international, his compatriots, Phil Jones and Luke Shaw are out as well. Rojo, Herrera, McNair, Schneiderlin and Valencia will also be sidelined with various problems.
Wolfsburg on the other hand will be without four of their players, who are currently out injured. Sprenger, Zawada, Stolze and Lopes are all out injured for the hosts and will miss this crucial tie against United. The German outfit have two wins, two losses and a draw in their last five games and will want to add another win to it and top the group.
Further, the English side will go into this game at the back of a goalless draw against West Ham United on Saturday, whereas their opponents themselves lost to Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the league and will want to bounce back.
Also, based on head to head encounters, United have won all three previous meetings between the two sides, which would surely be a huge morale booster for the Dutchman and his side.
Van Gaal would know that he can’t take any chances with PSV Eindhoven right on their tail at third place in the group with seven points. Wolfsburg have nine, while his side have eight and whichever team wins will surely go through, which is the need of the day.
The Manchester based side does have the quality to pull off a win in this must-win scenario and it will be interesting to see how this game goes, as it would have an impact on the rest of their season. If either side loses, they could be well on their way to the Europa League.
Wolfsburg predicted lineup
- Diego Benaglio
- Dante
- Naldo
- Marcel Schäfer
- Christian Träsch
- Maximilian Arnold
- Daniel Caligiuri
- Josuha Guilavogui
- Vieirinha
- Bas Dost
- Max Kruse
Man Utd predicted lineup
- David de Gea
- Matteo Darmian
- Chris Smalling
- Daley Blind
- Michael Carrick
- Jesse Lingard
- Juan Mata
- Bastian Schweinsteiger
- Ashley Young
- Memphis Depay
- Anthony Martial
Wolfsburg vs Manchester United Match Stats:
- Wolfsburg have played the Red Devils three times previously in the Champions League; losing all of them.
- The German club have lost their last seven meetings with English sides in Europe (Man Utd, Fulham and Everton).
- United have only lost once in their previous six visits to Germany in the Champions League group stages (W3 D2); scoring eight goals over their most recent two visits.
- Wolfsburg have won both of their home Champions League matches this term, keeping clean sheets in those games.
Stats via Skysports
Wolfsburg vs Manchester United Prediction:
A 1-1 draw.