PREVIEW: Bayer Leverkusen v Manchester United

BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany

Wednesday 27th November 2013 – KO 8:45pm live on Super Sports 2HD

Referee: Svein Oddvar Moen  (NOR)

Assistant Referees: Kim Thomas Haglund  (NOR) , Frank Andås  (NOR)

Fourth Official: Sven Erik Midthjell  (NOR)

Manchester United travel to Germany for their UEFA Champions League showdown with Bayer Leverkusen, the side they beat 4-2 in their opening group fixture this season. United have only amassed eight points from four matches in the group this season beating the German side and Real Sociedad at Old Trafford, a 1-1 draw against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Ukraine and a 0-0 draw  against Real Sociedad in Spain. United are currently top of their group, a point clear of the Germans and three points above Shakhtar Donetsk, so a win in Germany will be enough to see United progress to the knockout stages this season.

 United are in the midst of an injury crisis at the moment with Michael Carrick, Nemanja Vidic and Robin van Persie. Marouane Fellaini, who was dismissed during the last match in Spain will also miss out, but with the fact that Phil Jones and Rafael da Silva both trained today, it could give some relief, especially to the midfield with Jones playing a part there recently. United played Cardiff City in the Barclays Premier League at the weekend and found themselves 2-1 up at half time. A poor second half performance and a late equaliser frustrated United with them only taking a point home, when they could have had three.

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Bayer Leverkusen are second in the Bundesliga, just behind Bayern Munich, so are flying high so far this season. United won the first clash between the two sides back in September, but with the Germans also looking to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition, will be looking for a win at the BayArena tomorrow night. This will be a tough match, but Moyes’ boys need to stand up and fight, after a string of poor performances, they really need to be finding their feet.

Players to watch:

Shinji Kagawa: The Japanese playmaker has really not proven himself this season, but at the moment with an injury crisis at the club, it is time for him to stand up and be counted. There are no doubts about his ability, we saw that from him at Borussia Dortmund and whilst playing for Japan, but he needs to prove himself at United, in order to stay with the club. The axe is currently over his head and speculation suggests he could be moved on in January. It would be a shame but if it doesn’t fit, take it back. I would like to see him shine, he doesn’t have long to do so, in my opinion.

Stefan Kießling: The German striker is the club’s top scorer, and playing with Son Heung-Min, who recently scored a hat-trick in the Bundesliga against Hamburg, the German side will be hard to contain. United will need to stop them from scoring, which is something I don’t see right now, so the only option will be to outscore them. If Kießling is on form, it will be tough to contain him. Bayer Leverkusen have the ability to beat United, look at the last game between the two sides. United were 2-0 up when they got a goal, then took it to 3-1, then 4-1, with another consolation goal coming two minutes from time. The ability is there for them.