VfL Wolfsburg make the trip to Old Trafford this week, with high hopes of continuing their 100% record against the Barclays Premier League leaders, Manchester United.

United slowly finding their feet

After a topsy-turvy first season in charge, Louis van Gaal and his Red Devils finally seem to be on the same page. United went top of the league thanks to their 3-0 win over Sunderland at the weekend, and is the first time they have occupied the position since they last claimed the title.

A new-look side, which is almost unrecognisable from the squad he was handed at the start of his tenure, have the home faithful purring and it is easy to see why. The likes of Memphis Depay, Juan Mata and Wayne Rooney provide plenty of attacking threat on their own, though the service given to young Anthony Martial has seen the most talked about teen in world football shine since his move to van Gaal's men.

Bastian Schweinsteiger, should he start, will need no introductions to the Wolfsburg side that ran his Bayern Munich team-mates closest last term. The German stalwart has only lost four times to the Volkswagen Arena outfit and he also boasts a good goalscoring record against them. Six goals and six assists in 23 games is impressive, and has only scored more goals against Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.

Wolfsburg keen to get back to winning ways

For Wolfsburg, this season has been solid if unspectacular. A 3-0 win against Schalke 04 and a 5-1 defeat by Bayern are the stand-out results, though it is the next run of fixtures that could make or break the campaign. This game is the start of a run that sees them take on PSV Eindhoven twice, as well as Bayern Munich, Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen within their next eight matches.

While the departure of Kevin de Bruyne could have drastically altered their chances of a successful year, the acquisition of Julian Draxler has lessened the blow. The midfielder scored the winning goal against CSKA Moscow and has looked much more robust in a midfield role than he did at the Royal Blues. His injury problems seems to be behind him and now Draxler is happy to get involved in the build-up and start moves off.

The Wolves currently lie in fourth after three wins, three draws and that heavy defeat to the reigning champions. They are just four points from Schalke in fourth, although a similar swing in the opposite direction would see them sitting in 12th place. Dieter Hecking will be keen to try and turn those draws into wins before they have to make up major ground to ensure automatic qualification to the Champions League.

Team news

Luke Shaw will be absent after breaking his leg in two places during United's 2-1 defeat to PSV, while Marcos Rojo and Nick Powell are also out of the match with long-term injuries. Paddy McNair may also not feature, while Schweinsteiger faces a battle to be fit for the clash. For Wolfsburg, Vieirinha will definitely miss out and so will Robin Knoche. Luiz Gustavo could also miss out with a knee problem.

Referee

Viktor Kassai will be the man in the middle on Wednesday evening. The Hungarian official has refereed some of football's most high-profile games, including Manchester United's Champions League final defeat to Barcelona back in 2011. The 40-year-old also took charge of Spain's 2010 World Cup semi-final win over Germany.

Predicted line-ups

Manchester United: (4-2-3-1) de Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Darmian; Schneiderlin, Schweinsteiger; Mata, Rooney, Depay; Martial.

VfL Wolfsburg: (4-2-3-1) Benaglio; Träsch, Naldo, Dante, Rodriguez; Guilavogui, Arnold; Caligiuri, Kruse, Draxler; Dost.

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Jonathan Walsh
SoccerSight IFA commentator. VAVEL deputy editor-in-chief/VAVEL Bundesliga editor-in-chief and writer. Email: [email protected]