The Red Devils will be without influential Serbian Nemanja Vidic as he joins a long list of defensive injury casualties including Rio Ferdinand, John O’Shea, Rafael, Fabio, Gary Neville and Wes Brown.
With Patrice Evra the only recognised defender with any Champions League experience making the trip to Germany, Ferguson may be forced into moving Michael Carrick to the centre of defence, as he did during the 4-0 victory over West Ham United on the weekend.
As qualification for the next phase of the competition already secured for United, Ferguson will likely take the opportunity to chop and change following Saturday’s impressive 4-0 win at Upton Park in the Premier League. A solitary point from the Volkswagen Arena will see last season’s Champions League finalists qualify in top spot.
Wolfsburg, on the other hand, will surely be going out all guns blazing as they attempt to join United in the knock-out stages of Europe’s premier club competition. The Germans are level on points with CSKA Moscow in second place and will know that anything but a win could see them having to settle for a place in the Europa League.
FORM GUIDE
VfL Wolfsburg
5 Dec: VfL Wolfsburg 2-2 Freiburg (Bundesliga)
28 Nov: Werder Bremen 2-2 VfL Wolfsburg (Bundesliga)
25 Nov: CSKA Moscow 3-1 VfL Wolfsburg (Champions League)
21 Nov: VfL Wolfsburg 2-3 FC Nurnberg (Bundesliga)
7 Nov: Hoffenheim 1-2 VfL Wolfsburg (Bundesliga)
Manchester United
5 Dec: West Ham United 0-4 Manchester United (Premier League)
1 Dec: Manchester United 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur (League Cup)
28 Nov: Portsmouth 1-4 Manchester United (Premier League)
25 Nov: Manchester United 0-1 Besiktas (Champions League)
21 Nov: Manchester United 3-0 Everton (Premier League)
TEAM NEWS
VfL Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg boss Armin Veh has preferred to partner Ricardo Costa with Italian Andrea Barzagli in recent times and is unlikely to change things around in that regard.
Die Wolfe will hope that the creative spark that is Zvjezdan Misimovic can pull the strings in midfield allowing the attacking threat of Edin Dzeko and Grafite to flourish.
On the injury front, Obafemi Martins continues to be unavailable with the shin injury that is expected to keep him out until the New Year.
Possible starting XI: Benaglio; Schafer, Barzagli, Ricardo Costa, Riether; Josue, Gentner, Misimovic, Hasebe; Dzeko, Grafite.
Manchester United
The United squad that jetted off for Germany on Monday morning certainly has a youthful look about it, with the likes of Oliver Gill, Magnus Eikrem, Cameron Stewart and Oliver Norwood among the travelling party.
With so many injury problems at the back, Ferguson will likely turn to Michael Carrick and ask him to fill in at centre-back alongside another midfielder in the form of Darron Gibson. Darren Fletcher may also be required to do a job at right-back given the amount of absentees.
Tomasz Kuszczak will be vying with Ben Foster for a start in goal while Danny Welbeck should start up front with Michael Owen, given that Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov and Federico Macheda were all left at home in Manchester.
Ryan Giggs was another notable omission from the squad, meaning Antonio Valencia, Nani, Gabriel Obertan and Ji-Sung Park will be battling to vacate the two wide berths.
Possible starting XI: Foster; Evra, Carrick, Gibson, Fletcher; Nani, Scholes, Anderson, Park; Welbeck, Owen.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
VfL Wolfsburg – Edin Dzeko
With United assistant Mike Phelan openly admitting that the Premier League champions are monitoring Dzeko, the Bosnian international will certainly be keen to provide a further demonstration of his talents.
Dzeko caused problems for the United back four at Old Trafford and he is sure to pose a similarly imposing threat on Tuesday evening against what is sure to be a makeshift defence.
Manchester United – Nani
After a decent first season in the Premier League, Nani has struggled to establish himself during the past 12 months and his inconsistent showings have even seen him drop completely out of first team contention more recently.
Ferguson recently reiterated his stance that he doesn’t intend to sell the Portuguese winger so, if selected, a decent performance against the Bundesliga holders may help reignite his Old Trafford career.
PREDICTION
Wolfsburg have been enduring a pretty woeful recent run having only won one of their last five in all competitions. That said, the likes of Dzeko, Grafite and Misimovic should pose a considerable threat to what will be a somewhat patched up United defence.
VfL Wolfsburg 2–1 Manchester United
