MANCHESTER, England: Buoyed by seven straight victories in all competitions, Manchester United can topple Champions League Group B leader Wolsburg by beating the German champions at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United defender Nemanja Vidic is keen to maintain the club’s unbeaten home streak in the competition, which dates back to Feb. 2005, and ultimately reach the final to exorcise the memories of Barcelona’s victory in May.
“We need to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” Vidic said. “It is a very bad feeling when you go to a final and lose and that one is a particularly bad memory.
“You do have to acknowledge it is better to get to the final and lose than not be there at all, and that to stand up you need to sit. But it is hard.” United is still adapting to life without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo, who departed to Real Madrid in the offseason, and forward Carlos Tevez, who defected to Manchester City. The Premier League champions and current leaders relied on 34-year-old midfielder Paul Scholes’ late goal to open the European campaign with a 1-0 win at Besiktas.
“Ronaldo and Tevez are quality players, there is no question about that,” Vidic said. “But it is hard to say whether we have got over losing them. We will probably only know that at the end of the season.
“There is no question we have quality players but, for me, the really encouraging sign is that we are still not in the best form. You don’t want to be at your highest level at this stage. We have to be ready for the most important games at the end.” Wolfsburg is delighted to have kept hold of Brazilian striker Grafite, who scored 28 goals in 25 German league games last season.
And the 30-year-old Grafite dazzled on Wolfsburg’s Champions League debut two weeks ago, scoring a hat trick to clinch a 3-1 victory over CSKA Moscow.
Now he can’t wait to end United’s impressive home streak.
“We are looking forward to going there, to have a good match and bring back one or three points,” Grafite said.
“This is a team that has grown together, has had difficulties together but is going through a marvelous period together. There is a brotherhood together on the pitch and in the dressing room.” 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.
Besiktas and CSKA Moscow are looking to bounce back from their opening day losses in Wednesday’s other Group B encounter on artificial turf at the Luzhniki stadium in the Russian capital.
Besiktas coach Mustafa Denizli has identified a soft spot in the defense and poor shooting by the Russians that can be exploited.
“It is not a team that cannot be beaten,” Denizli said.
“When under the slightest pressure they cannot get organized and they fall apart.” But Besiktas is trailing in 12th place in the Turkish league table after six weeks and Besiktas’ Argentine midfielder Matias Emilio Delgado remains a doubt despite traveling to Moscow for the match while recovering from leg surgery.
CSKA also isn’t experiencing the best domestic form, losing to Zenit 2-0 on Saturday to drop to fourth in the Russian league with seven matches to go.
However, the fact that Besiktas has not scored in their five last matches is encouraging for CSKA coach Juande Ramos.
“It’s a positive statistic for us, but hardly we will proceed from this,” Ramos said. “First of all we will think how to arrange our game, but we also will try to extend Besiktas’ goalless streak. We have enough motivation to win.”
