A couple of weeks ago, Wolfsburg were flying high, they were unbeaten in the league and pulled off a well fought 1-0 win over CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
Then they went to the Allianz Arena, to play Bayern Munich. At half time, Wolfburg were 1-0 up, thanks to a fantastic half volley from Daniel Caligiuri.
Wolfsburg dominated the first half so Bayern made a very key half time substitution. They brought on Robert Lewandowski just after half time.
The Polish striker was only on the field for 5 minutes when he scored to tie up the game. 9 minutes after that, Lewandowski had scored 5 goals. The 5th goal was the pick of the bunch; it was an incredible, acrobatic volley from the edge of the box.
Wolfsburg then went further behind Bayern in midweek, when they drew 1-, at home, to Hannover 96, and Bayern won 3-0 away to Mainz. They now sit 4th in the Bundesliga, on 12 points after 7 games.
Manchester United have only met Die Wölfe twice before. Both in UEFA Champions League group stages, in 2009. United won the home leg 2-1 and the away leg 3-1.
The German side has seen some major personnel come and go over the summer transfer window. The most reported upon being their prized Belgian, Kevin De Bruyne.
The Wolves did manage to get a whopping £54.8 million for the midfielder, from Manchester City, and have reinvested it wisely in 22 year old winger, Julian Draxler.
Their new left winger has been tipped for greatness throughout his career but has been held back slightly from staying at a mediocre club, Schalke 04. He scored 30 goals and set up 29, in 170 appearances. Wolfsburg paid £25.3 million for Draxler.
Wolfsburg also lost another source of goals and assists this summer, in the form of Ivan Perišić leaving to Inter. The Croatian winger was lightning fast and contributed 21 goals and 17 assists in his time at the German club.
Bas Dost has been Wolfsburg’s main goal man this season. The 26 year old Dutchman already has 6 goals in 10 appearances. Overall, Dost has proven to be quite the goal threat for Wolves, scoring 43 goals in 94 games.
As Premier League fans will know, ex-Chelsea player, André Schürrle is always a goal threat. But he’s failed to get off the mark this season, not scoring in 7 games so far.
Despite the seeding, this is actually a greater challenge for Manchester United than the PSV Eindhoven game was. Wolfsburg have a huge array of attacking talent and their defence is pretty solid too.
United will obviously be looking to win the game but will have to be careful about committing too many men forward as Wolfsburg’s attack thrives on speedy counter attacks.
Predictions
This is a much better Wolfsburg than the one that the Red Devils faced back in 2009 but United’s good form, and home advantage, should give them the upper hand on the Germans.
It’s a struggle to see Manchester United losing today, but Wolfsburg have the quality to force a draw. Manchester United to win 2-1 is my prediction though, hoping that Martial gets off the mark in the Champions League.
