Tuesday’s showdown is do-or-die for Wolfsburg and Manchester United. We all know how tough it is to play against German teams at their stadiums, it’s a big challenge, but we believe that we can get our ticket to the next round of the Champions League there, and also a boost of confidence for this busy month of December’.
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Group B has been one of the tightest sections in the competition with PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow earning points throughout.
“We have not made it easy for ourselves, but we know that victory in Germany will not only guarantee qualification, but also ensure we finish top of our group”.
There was bad news for the midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger, who has been charged with violent conduct by the Football Association following a clash with West Ham’s Winston Reid during the frustrating goalless draw last Saturday.
In a dramatic final two minutes, Ricardo Rodriguez’s 90th minute penalty put Wolfsburg level before Kagawa struck the victor just seconds before the final whistle. Dieter Hecking’s team are now fifth in the division with 25 points from 15 matches, leaving them closer to the relegation zone than Bayern Munich. “We have to shake this off quickly”. On their previous visit in 2009, former England global Michael Owen scored a hattrick, while Edin Dzeko netted one for the Wolves.
Van Gaal, 64, is seemingly doing enough to sit securely in the manager’s chair, shielded from criticism by his unflinching self-belief and the indications from above that the board want him to, at the very least, see out the remaining two years on his contract. Wolfsburg, meanwhile, will be without Luiz Gustavo who missed the Dortmund defeat, while Julian Draxler and Dante are back from injury and suspension respectively. The Foals are buoyed by the 3-1 win over Bayern Munich on Saturday, the club’s 10th match in the league without defeat since the appointment of Andre Schubert as coach.
The Russian side may be top of their Premier League but they have won just one of the last five matches in the league and none of their last four. “We have our goal in our own hands”. If we can get it, then psychologically it will be good for us because we’ll get a little bit more space and stuff like that. “It cost us so much strength to come back from 1-0 down and we took no points despite a good second-half”, said Wolfsburg captain Diego Benaglio.
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Monchengladbach are out to secure their place in the Europa League at the start of 2016 and a win will make sure of third in Group D for the Bundesliga club but they will be fine as long as Sevilla fail to defeat leaders Juventus.
