Date: Tuesday, August 17 Venue: Old Trafford Kick-Off: 19:45 Can new Manchester United manager David Moyes get his first ever Champions League Group Stage game off to a winning start against Bayer Leverkusen tonight?
Team News
Manchester United look set to be without striker Danny Welbeck and defender Phil Jones as they prepare to welcome Bayer Leverkusen to Old Trafford tonight. Welbeck (knee) and Jones (ankle) both missed training this week and are not expected to feature. Wayne Rooney is expected to start however, and is likely to again wear protective headgear after sustaining a badly-gashed forehead in a training collision. Midfielder Shinji Kagawa could feature after returning to full training following a bout with the flu. Bayer Leverkusen are sweating over the fitness of midfielder Lars Bender (hip) who will be assessed prior to kick-off. The Germany international missed his side's recent 3-1 win over Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga, as well as both of his nation's World Cup qualifiers against Austria and the Faroe Islands. (BBC)
Key Stats
New Manchester United manager David Moyes is taking a team into the Champions League Group Stages for the first ever time, having been knocked out by Villarreal as boss at Everton in the qualifiers in 2005-06. Bayer Leverkusen finished third in the Bundesliga last season to secure their place in the Champions League. They finished only behind eventual European champions Bayern Munich and finalists Borussia Dortmund in the table. Leverkusen have won four of their first five league matches this term and are currently third behind Dortmund and Bayern Munich. United have won two and drawn two of their four previous Champions League encounters with Leverkusen, but were knocked out by the German side on away goals in 2001/02.
Likely Line-Ups
Manchester United De Gea, Evra, Vidic, Ferdinand, Fabio, Carrick, Fellaini, Young, Rooney, Valencia, Van Persie Bayer Leverkusen Leno, Boenisch, Spahic, Toprak, Donati, Castro, Reinartz, Bender, Heung-Min, Kiebling, Sam Now click "Next" for our Match Preview.
Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.
