Manchester United vs Wolfsburg Preview/Team News/Expected 11

Manchester United will take on Wolfsburg in the midweek Champions League clash at Old Trafford on 31 September, thursday live at 00:15 (IST).

United come into this game after their comfortable 3-0 victory over Sunderland at Old Trafford in the last league fixture. The result saw them move to the top of the table after Manchester City suffered a defeat at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur.

Louis van Gaal's side suffered a 2-1 defeat at the hands of PSV Eindhoven in the first match of the European fixture this season. The same clash also saw star defender Luke Shaw suffer a double fracture after Hector Moreno's horror tackle.

In the last three matches, United have scored nine goals and conceded only two, while keeping two clean sheets in the process. They will be looking for their first win in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Wolfsburg come into this fixture after a 1-1 draw against Hannover 96 at home. This comes after their 5-1 crushing defeat at the hands of Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Dieter Hecking's side won their opening match against CSKA Moscow. The German outfit will be looking for their second win of the season, but will have to overcome the English giants to do so.

Form guide: Louis van Gaal’s team moved to the top of the Barclays Premier League on Saturday with a comfortable 3-0 success against Sunderland, after rivals Manchester City lost 4-1 at Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the day. The Reds have also kept consecutive clean sheets and  scored three goals in four of the last five fixtures in all competitions. In contrast, Wolfsburg are without a win in two Bundesliga outings after drawing 1-1 with Hannover 96 and losing 5-1 to Bayern Munich last Wednesday, when substitute Robert Lewandowski scored five times in just nine minutes.

Sub-plot: This is the first time United have entered the second game of a Champions League campaign without a point since 1996/97, when Alex Ferguson's men started with a 1-0 loss at Juventus. However, the Reds have never lost a home game on matchday two.

Danger man: Wolfsburg sold their star player Kevin De Bruyne to Manchester City in the summer, but reinvested that money straight away by signing Germany international Julian Draxler from Schalke. “Draxler was a very young talent when I was in charge of Bayern, so I know him,” van Gaal told reporters. “He has to go on a long road like Anthony Martial, although it could be a little bit shorter because he has been playing longer on that level. He is a very good player."

View from the dressing room: “Last season, Wolfsburg had a great season in the Bundesliga and kept most of their players and bought new players like Julian Draxler, who is a very good number 10. We’ll have to be ready for that – we know in the Champions League there are no easy games and they are a difficult team to face.” – Juan Mata

What managers say:

Louis van Gaal: "The Premier League is a very difficult league. To beat your opponent every week is not easy, it is always a struggle and a battle. Then you have to play again mid-week in the Champions League and that is the difference between all the clubs in Europe."

Dieter hecking: "andre has been here for nine months now. we have expectations, which are higher than what has so far shown here. he maybe broods too much. we've addressed this. he currently does not have the feeling for the situation in which he can be successful. that's why we can't spare him criticism. it's partially justified, and he knows that."

Latest team news: Luke shaw is a long-term absentee after breaking his leg in eindhoven, which forced matteo darmian to play at left-back last time out. marcos rojo can also play in that position but the argentina international is struggling with a hamstring injury and could miss out, while paddy mcnair is also doubtful after being unavailable for the ipswich town and sunderland games. vieirinha and koen casteels have sat out the wolves' last five matches, while robin knoche is sidelined for another two weeks. luiz gustavo missed saturday's match with hannover due to a knee problem.

Expected 11:

Manchester united:

De gea
Valencia
Smalling
Blind
Darmian
Carrick
Schneiderlin
Mata
Rooney
Memphis
Martial

Wolfsburg:

Benaglio
Trasch
Naldo
Dante
Rodriguez
Guilavogui
Caligiuri
Schurrle
Arnold
Draxler
Dost

Prediction: Manchester United 3-1 Wolfsburg

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