Manchester United vs Bayer Leverkusen preview

September 16, 2013
By: Nemanja Lazarevic

United vs CityFollowing the unlucky exit at the Last 16 stage last term, Manchester United will be hoping to kick off the new Champions League campaign with a bang.

However, that will be no easy task seeing as how they host in-form Bayer Leverkusen, who have won four of first five Bundesliga fixtures.

Even if many people doubted David Moyes following some pretty disappointing pre-season performances, his side managed to hit the ground running early on, winning the Community Shield match against Wigan before hammering Swansea at Liberty Stadium.

With Wayne Rooney back to the side, the Red Devils completely outclassed Chelsea at home, but had to settle for a goalless draw, whereas the England forward was sorely missed in the first defeat of the season, as United were beaten by fierce rivals Liverpool at Anfield.

The Old Trafford outfit have since signed Marouane Fellaini from Everton and eased off to a home win over Crystal Palace, but everybody is aware this will be a whole different ball game.

Even the 1.80 (4/5) odds offered at William Hill on home win are enough to suggest this will be anything but a walk in the park for the hosts.

David Moyes is expected to make some changes to his starting line-up, with Tom Cleverley and Nani pushing for starting places.

While Darren Fletcher has finally resumed training, Phil Jones and Rafael continue to miss out through ankle and hamstring injury respectively.

Probable starting line-up (4-2-3-1): De Gea – Fabio, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra – Cleverley, Carrick – Nani, Rooney, Kagawa – Van Persie.

Bayer Leverkusen have long ago established themselves as the best of the rest in German Bundesliga, meaning the next task is to try and challenge Bayern and Borussia Dortmund for the league title.

That may not be possible until a significant amount of cash is pumped into the squad, but considering the circumstances, die Werkself are doing pretty well at the moment.

Former Liverpool defender Sami Hyypia is turning out to be a very good manager, and the game against Manchester United will be an excellent test for both the Finnish coach and his men.

The good news is the visitors arrive at Old Trafford in high spirits, having defeated Wolfsburg to make it four wins in five Bundesliga games.

Leverkusen are 5.50 (9/2) with SkyBet to shock their more illustrious opponents, with last year’s Bundesliga top scorer Stefan Kiessling 4.00 (3/1) at Paddy Power to add to his six goals this season.

With no fresh injury worries to report, Sami Hyypia is likely to stick to the same side that beat Wolfsburg at the weekend.

Probable starting line-up (4-3-3): Leno – Hilbert, Toprak, Spahic, Boenisch – Castro, Reinartz, Bender – Sam, Kiessling, Son.

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