Wolfsburg can reach the knockout stages and eliminate Manchester United from the Champions League. Meanwhile, in-form Borussia Mönchengladbach face Man City with third-place up for grabs on Tuesday night.
Tuesday’s showdown is do-or-die for Wolfsburg and Manchester United. Boasting a one point advantage over the Red Devils, need a draw at least to progress to the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time.
Group B has been one of the tightest sections in the competition with PSV Eindhoven and CSKA Moscow earning points throughout. Leading the group going into matchday six, a point for the Wolves would be enough to qualify, while all three would guarantee top-spot, which is important when seedings are made for the next stage.
But preparations took a hit on Saturday as Borussia Dortmund ended their 29-game unbeaten home run. Cancelling out an opener from Marco Reus, Ricardo Rodriguez scored an injury time penalty before Shinji Kagawa bagged the winner. “It was really annoying,” admitted head coach Dieter Hecking. “We have to shake this off quickly.”
World Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger will return to Germany for the encounter as United look to win in Wolfsburg for the second time. On their previous visit in 2009, former England international Michael Owen scored a hattrick, while Edin Dzeko netted one for the Wolves.
Louis van Gaal’s men are without Wayne Rooney, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ander Herrera, Phil Jones, Marcos Rojo, Antonio Valencia and Luke Shaw. The Red Devils were held at home to West Ham on Saturday, their third draw in successive games. 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 Final Curtain
Borussia Mönchengladbach can still secure a place in the UEFA Europa League when they face Manchester City on Wednesday. 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.
Schubert’s team has impressed in Europe, but the 4-2 win over Sevilla and draw with Juventus wasn’t enough to keep the Bundesliga side in the race for second. If Gladbach win in Manchester, they will secure third, but a draw would require results to go their way when Sevilla face Juventus. “We have our goal in our own hands. We have to push ourselves to the limit again,” said Granit Xhaka.
“We are confident that we can survive in Europe,” said goalie Yann Sommer. The sounds from Manchester are like music to the ears of Schubert and his players. City lost their previous Premier League match at Stoke 2-0, having lost 4-1 at home to Liverpool two weeks back. “My team is tired. We must always prepare with the same 13 players,” said Man City boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Gladbach’s long-standing record against English clubs is strong: they have suffered just four defeats in half a century. While confidence is high among the Gladbach players, securing European football for the New Year will be another milestone for Schubert.
