Possible lineups
Manchester United: De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Blind, Darmian; Schweinsteiger, Carrick; Mata, Rooney, Depay; Martial.
Out: Rojo (hamstring), Shaw (broken leg), Carrick (muscle)
Doubtful: McNair (unknown), Valencia (knock), Herrera (knock)
Wolfsburg: Benaglio; Träsch, Naldo, Dante, Rodriguez; Guilavogui, Arnold, Caligiuri, Draxler, Kruse; Dost.
Out: Knoche (ankle), Felipe (foot), Vieirinha (thigh)
Doubtful: Luiz Gustavo (knee)
Louis van Gaal, Manchester United manager
In the Champions League you have to win your home games, otherwise it will be very difficult to progress. It is not impossible, but winning the home games is the key.
I think Michael Carrick won’t play, and Antonio Valencia and Ander Herrera have minor injuries, but I really don’t want to take the risk like we have done with Wayne Rooney. It’s better to give players a rest for one match rather than losing them for a long period.
[Bastian Schweinsteiger] was my captain [at Bayern München] together with [Philipp] Lahm. He has adapted really well. Already he is accepted as a leading player and that’s why we signed him from Bayern. We are trying to mix young players with guys who have plenty of experience. And Bastian is a perfect role model for the young players. I’m really happy for him.
We have made a big progress as a team, we’ve become more mature. Bastian has added some balance while Morgan Schneiderlin gives us more composure. We’ve definitely improved compared to last year, but we still need to even more and I can assure you we are improving. I see it every week.
Reaching the final is the aim, while to win a final you need some luck. It is not only the quality; it’s also luck. For me as a manager if you have reached the final, you have done fantastically. If you’re able to win it, it’s incredible.
Dieter Hecking, Wolfsburg coach
This ground is called the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. I don’t have dreams, I prefer reality. A win would not be bad but the most important thing is to play well.
Every Champions League game is a challenge. But we’re in a good position after the first win against CSKA Moskva and we’re looking to build on that. To play at Old Trafford will be a great experience but we need to concentrate on our performance to hope for a positive result. We have come here to play football.
People have been overly critical of us lately after our 5-1 loss to Bayern and 1-1 draw with Hannover. We made some changes to the squad over the summer, signing good players like Max Kruse for example. Of course most people will say United will win but we need to put pressure on them. Yes, they are the more experienced side but let’s wait and see what happens on the pitch.
This will be my first visit to Old Trafford and I agree the atmosphere can have an impact on the result, but I’m not worried about that. I just hope my players will prove Wolfsburg are a very good team.
