Having already tied up the qualification to the knock-out stages of the Champions League, United will lock horns with German champions VfL Wolfsburg tonight hoping to atleast earn a draw in order to clinch top spot. However, the United side is so badly ravaged by injuries that calling it a crisis sounds like a euphemism. Against a Wolfsburg side that needs to win in order to ensure qualification, it is going to be extremely difficult for us.
Now before we go any further, let me list out the squad that has made the trip to Germany for the Wolfsburg clash. The squad goes like this:
Tomasz Kuszczak, Ben Foster, Patrice Evra, Oliver Gill, Gabriel Obertan, Magnus Eikrem, Paul Scholes, Darron Gibson, Antonio Valencia, Michael Carrick, Matty James, Darren Fletcher, Ji-sung Park, Anderson, Cameron Stewart, Nani, Oliver Norwood, Michael Owen, Danny Welbeck .
After you have rubbed your eyes in disbelief, let me make it absolutely clear that this is not the squad list for a Reserves clash but in reality is our roster for the Champions League away clash against Wolfsburg. An impressive victory against the Hammers over the weekend did take its toll. No less than 12 of our first-team contenders have been ruled out due to a myriad range of injuries. The injury list goes like this:
Owen Hargreaves: We all know what that is about.
Rio Ferdinand: Ah, well.
Jonny Evans: Out till January, calf/ankle I think.
Wesley Brown: Big bad Wesley Brown has been struck down with a hamstring problem, is in a race to be fit for Villa over the weekend.
John O’Shea: Out till January with an ankle problem.
Edwin VDS: Struck down with a knee injury although should be fit to face Villa.
Nemanja Vidic: Suffering from flu, should be okay for Villa.
Wayne Rooney: Hamstring. Doubtful for the weekend.
Berbatov: Knee. Doubtful. How he manages to get injured without even playing is a mystery.
Gary Neville: Neville the Red has been a victim of a calf problem.
Da Silva twins: Fabio- groin, Rafael- unknown.
Amidst such herculean problems in defence, United will have to pull a rabbit out of the hat if they are to beat Wolfsburg on their own turf. Wolfsburg themselves are stuck in a rut of poor form having won just four of their last fourteen games, a run of results that has seen them languish at a lowly 8th spot in the Bundesliga. Regardless of their form, though, they remain a tough side to beat especially considering the fact that in Dzeko and Grafite they have one of the most prolific strike partnership in Europe. Misimovic, their midfield talisman, will be looking to exploit the erosion of our defence and we will have to come up with a top drawer performance if we are to keep a clean sheet. The sad part is that even if we do manage a clean sheet, there is no way we are going to score considering the fact that we have only two recognized strikers in Owen and Welbeck in the traveling squad. Let’s face it, neither of Owen or Welbeck can be considered genuine threats without a Rooney or a Berbatov supporting them. Caught between the devil (a ravaged defence) and the deep sea (a toothless attack), all the burden of our performance will lie on our midfielders. I would have liked to see Nani get a chance but the odds on that are pretty unfavourable taking into account the treatment that has been meted out to him over the last few weeks. Gibson, Anderson, Valencia, Scholes and Park should start with either of Welbeck or Owen as the frontman. How the defence would line up is anyone’s guess. David Gill’s son Oliver is in with a shout and Sir Alex has quickly brushed down any talks of favouritism with a quick statement:
“It doesn’t concern me. If he is good enough, he plays. That is the name of the game at Manchester United. I had my own son in the squad for four or five years and he was treated exactly the same as any other member of the squad. It will be the same for Oliver.”
Paul Scholes remains confident about the injuries not hampering our performances though I am far less sure. A draw would be a fantastic achievement but a loss is very likely. The odds are stacked heavily against our inexperienced youngsters. I will be hoping against hope that they make us proud with a dazzling display.
Predictions: 2-1 to VfL Wolfsburg
Kick Off: 1945 GMT
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh my that is truly a severely depleted squad. Wolfsburg have been struggling off late but I expected that as they over-achieved last season and were always going to find it hard to live up to that this season. Look at Stuttgart, who finished third last season, and are now in the relegation zone and Babbel has already been sacked.
Very true Siddharth. It is amazing how often this happens in Germany and Spain. Look at sides like Real Sociedad and Celta Vigo for example. One year they are in the Champions League and the next they are languishing in the second division. Real Zaragoza suffered the same fate. But usually it is clubs like these that give us some pretty good players. Hopefully we can exploit Wolfsburg’s struggles to tap up Dzeko.
Yes Dzeko is the real deal as Grafite doesn’t have age on his side. And yes Spanish and German sides (apart from the big boys) have suffered from what they call “the curse of the Champions League.” England too had their cases in Leeds United and to some extent (UEFA Cup) Ipswich and Sunderland. Chelsea, too, I remember were staring at relegation in 2000-01 despite reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League in 1999-2000. Ranieri ofcourse came and got them out of the mess.