Manchester United fans will welcome back Champions League after an absence of one year, but before they go up against the best teams in Europe, United must overcome Belgian side Club Brugge in the Champions League playoff. Louis Van Gaal will like to secure a good result at Old Trafford before the return leg next week.
2013-2014 was a painful season for every United fan, as the club secured a seventh place finish, which meant that they would miss out on Champions League for the first time after the 1995-1996 season. United have taken full points from their first two matches in the English Premier League, but haven’t looked their fluent best in any of the two matches. The fact that they have kept two clean sheets till now should encourage the Manager.
Though Club Brugge will go into this match as underdogs, United should be wary of the fact that the Belgian side has already beaten a strong Panathinaikos side on their way to the play-off stage of the competition. Though they lost to Panathinaikos 2-1 in the first leg, they managed to defeat them 3-0 in the second leg at home. Having finished second in the Belgian league, Club Brugge guaranteed their entry to the early stages of the qualifying rounds.
It would take a massive effort from the Belgian team to come away from Old Trafford with anything but head coach Michel Preud’homme will be hoping to spring a few surprises. United on the other hand will be looking to produce a good performance in front of their home fans who have been waiting desperately for this moment for a year now. LVG cannot afford to miss out on Champions League this season, especially after the new mega deal with Adidas and the big money moves. Club Brugge haven’t had the best of times playing in England, they are yet to win a match on English soil, losing nine and drawing twice in the previous eleven encounters.
United will be without Phil Jones, who is still nursing an injury but Marouane Fellaini might return to the starting line-up after missing out on the first two games of the season through suspension. Sergio Romero is expected to continue between the sticks. While new signing Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ander Herrera might feature from the start. Javier Hernandez looks likely to start the game from the bench with Rooney expected to lead the line once again.
Michel Preud’homme’s mission impossible seems a lot tougher after considering the number of injured players in his squad right now. A host of players remain sidelined including Bernie Ibini-Isei, Bjorn Engels and Nicolas Castillo, while a few others are due for late fitness test. Club captain Timmy Simons will be leading his side on the Old Trafford pitch. Former Barcelona player Victor Vasquez is likely to feature from the start for the Belgian side.
Manchester United vs Club Brugge Possible Lineups:
Predicted Manchester United XI: Romero, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Schneiderlin, Herrera, Depay, Januzaj, Mata and Rooney
Predicted Club Brugge XI: Bruzzese, De Bock, Duarte, Mechele, Cools, Vasquez, Simons, Vormer, Dierckx, Diaby and Oulare
Predicted score: Manchester United versus Club Brugge : 3-1
Manchester United vs Club Brugge Key Stats:
This will be the first time that the two teams have met in European competition.
United have won all three previous home games against Belgian opponents by an aggregate score of 18-1. All those matches were against Anderlecht.
Club Brugge’s past encounters with English clubs include defeats in the 1976 UEFA Cup and 1978 European Champion Clubs’ Cup finals – both against Liverpool.
Stats via UEFA.com