Manchester United vs Vfl Wolfsburg Preview, Live Score: UEFA Champions League 2009-10

Manchester United takes on Vfl Wolfsburg on 30 September 2009 at Old Trafford in a group stage match of UEFA Champions League 2009-10. Both clubs got off to a good start to the current campaign of Europe. Manchester United pulled off a 1-0 victory at Besiktas, while Wolfsburg defeated CSKA Moscow 3-1 at home. Manchester United goes into the game on the back of 7 straight victories in all competitions and they are clearly favorite counting on their home advantage too.

If you want to get the live score and updates of the match between Manchester United vs Wolfsburg, then visit BBC.

Match: Manchester United vs Vfl Wolfsburg, Group B, UEFA Champions League 2009-10

Date: 30 September 2009

Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester, England

Kick off: 18:45 GMT (19:45 BST)

Vfl Wolfsburg is the defending champion of German Bundesliga and they have a very strong squad with some talented players. However, the German champions do not look as formidable so far this season as they did last season. In fact, Wolfsburg has lost 3 out of their 7 matches in the German league this season and stands 6^th in the league standing with only 12 points, 5 points shy of leader Hamburg. However, the good thing is that Wolfsburg clinched a 4-2 victory over Hannover 96 last Saturday that must have boost up their confidence level. However, there is no doubt, the German outfit is going to face a strong challenge at Old Trafford tomorrow.

Manchester United, on the other hand, has been in high-flying form recently as they are now on 7-match winning run including some inspirational victories over Arsenal, Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Turkish champions Besiktas in Europe. If United can appear with their recent form, I do not think that they would have to struggle to pick up 3 points from the match. Wolfsburg may be a balanced side, but their recent form does not indicate that they pose any big threat for the three-time defending champions.

A victory over Wolfsburg at Old Trafford would help Manchester United move to the top spot in the Group B point table. Old Trafford has already become one of the toughest fortresses in the Europe as United has not lost any home game in Europe since February 2005. The Red Devils have been in effervescent form over the last few seasons both at home as well as in Europe. They are the champions of premier league for the last three seasons, while they were in the finals of Champions league in the last two seasons. In 2007-08, they won the European title by defeating fellow premier league outfit Chelsea, but failed to defend the title last season by losing to Barcelona in the final.

Wolfsburg for the first time won the German top league title last season and is now playing the champions league. It is true that United is favorite, but any level complacency in the United camp could cause an upset on Wednesday. The German side have a number of talented footballers. Their Brazilian striker Grafite is perhaps the biggest threat for Manchester United. Here, I am quoting some lines from Telegraph about Grafite:

1. VfL Wolfsburg striker, Grafite, scored arguably one of the best goals in Bundesliga history during Wolfsburg's 5-1 destruction of Bayern Munich in April. In the 77th minute, Grafite eluded five opposition players to chip in a reverse back-heel, helping seal Bayern's worst defeat in seven years.

5. During a prolific 2008/09 season, Grafite became Bundesliga's top scorer, netting 28 goals in 25 appearances, helping Wolfsburg to their first league title.

Yes, the Brazilian striker was the highest scorer of German league last season and was instrumental behind Wolfsburg’s triumph last season. He is also capable of setting up goals for others. The German club has some other talented players including striker Edin Dzeko and midfielder Zvjezdan Misimovic, both of whom are from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Christian Gentner also plays a very crucial role in the midfield.

However, the cause of concern for the visitors is that they might miss the service of their Brazilian captain Josue who suffered a knee injury during Saturday’s massive win over Hannover. Manager Armin Veh is also worried about Josue’s injury.

USA Today reported:

But Wolfburg's defense is causing coach Armin Veh concerns, especially with captain Josue an injury doubt. The Brazilian midfielder plays an important role in collecting loose balls and intercepting attacks, but is still in pain despite returning after knee surgery.

"We have to wait and see (if he plays), the decision will likely come shortly before the match," Veh said. "We really have to improve our defending," the coach said.

Manchester United also has some injury concerns. First of all, midfielder Park Ji-sung will not be available for the visit of the German club as he is now suffering from a virus that kept him out of training on Tuesday. Patrice Evra was rested on Sunday as he also got a virus, but it seems that he has got over it as he trained on Monday and Tuesday. So, it is expected that he will be available for the Wolfsburg match. Striker Michael Owen, whose injury time winner pulled off a memorable victory over City, is also doubtful for the European fixture as the England international missed the training on Tuesday due to a problem in his groin. However, Ferguson is hopeful that his Summer signing will be fit for the match.

Sky Sports reported:

"Ji-sung has a virus," said Ferguson. "Patrice Evra had it at the weekend. After the Stoke game he felt a bit uneasy - he was in bed on Sunday and didn't come to training, but he came in for a bit yesterday, came in today [Tuesday] and he should be alright.

"Michael should be alright for tomorrow. He had a tight groin in training yesterday, nothing serious. But obviously for the game tomorrow we didn't want to be pushing that. Other than that, everyone's fit."

Manchester United has a balanced squad in the presence of some experienced and talented players. In the defense, they have the likes of Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra and John O'Shea, while their midfield boasts of the stars like Giggs, Scholes, Nani, Fletcher, Carrick, Anderson and Valencia. In the forward line up, they have Rooney, Berbatov and Owen. So, you can see that United has an excellent combination of youth and experience.

Online Live Score and Updates

You can get the live score and updates of the match from the following websites:

Live Score

Goalzz

Live Football Scores

Goal.com

Footie Scorez

I also stated that Manchester United is favorite against Wolfsburg, given the Red Devils’ recent form and home advantage in evidence. However, Untied must be focused on the affair and has no room to take German visitors lightly. Wolfsburg’s recent form may not indicate that the upcoming match would be highly competitive, but considering the strength of their squad, I think, we can experience an entertaining game at Old Trafford.