Group B Kick-off: 19:45 (BST)
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes that the attacking potential of tonight’s opponents, Wolfsburg, is “incredible” and sees no reason for the German champions to be intimidated by the Old Trafford atmosphere.
He feels the experience of big Bundesliga crowds will obscure the fact this will be the German side’s away debut in the Champions League group stage.
“The two Wolfsburg [strikers] scored 71 goals between them last season which is incredible, so we’re looking forward to the game,” said the United boss.
“I believe that if the home record is good it gives you a good chance to qualify for the next stage of the Champions League. And over the years our home record has been pretty good. We won our first match away from home which is a very big bonus to us.
“Germany is a good football nation. It says a lot for Wolfsburg’s ambition: the progress they made last year, they did it in a very positive way.
“Sides from countries like Germany are always capable of winning the Champions League. The last few years it has been dominated by English teams, but there’s always the possibility of someone coming in.
Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh does not believe that the big-name summer departures from Old Traffors have significantly weakened United.
“Despite the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tévez, United are still strong,” he said. “When you take a look at the table you see that they haven’t lost in six matches so I see no significant changes – Manchester United have the same quality.
“This is a special game. United have played in more than 150 Champions League matches, while for us it’s just our second game, but we’re not going to sit back. I can’t say if the lads will be inspired or scared of playing their first match at Old Trafford, but we’ll still play our game, otherwise it’ll be tough for us. But if you talking about the atmosphere, nothing beats the Bundesliga where crowds are enormous.
“There is a chance that Obafemi Martins will be brought into action and we’ll play with three strikers, but of course it’s not easy for him to win the competition with two strikers like Grafite and Edin Dzeko.”
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