Manchester United vs Oţelul Galaţi Match Preview
Manchester United will look to take a step towards qualification for the last 16 with a home win over Otelul Galati on Wednesday night.
Second placed United are two points behind Group C leading SL Benfica, while pointless Otelul sit bottom of the group standings.
There is no danger of United showing any complacency against Galati, with Sir Alex Ferguson this week stating “we need to win, that’s for sure.”
Ferguson has confirmed that Rio Ferdinand will start in the heart of the United defense, while Brazilian fullback Rafael Da Silva is also expected to feature.
Ferdinand has been heavily criticized of late but Ferguson does not believe the veteran center back’s days at United are coming to an end despite his age. “Rio’s 33 now and has clearly lost a yard of pace compared to five years ago. So even though in the past he may have relied on that pace, there’s no reason why he can’t tailor his game and be absolutely fine.”
Chris Smalling, Ashley Young and Tom Cleverley are all ruled out with injury for United, while Darron Gibson and Ryan Giggs are also sidelined.
England striker Wayne Rooney will lead the United attack, and scored two penalties during the 2-0 matchday three win for United over Otelul in Bucharest.
Ioan Filp and Adrian Salageanu are both expected to play for Otelul, while Laurentiu Bus and Daniel Chavez are ruled out.
Romanian forward Marius Pena will lead the Otelul attack, and scored the club’s only goal of the tournament so far during the 2-1 opening defeat at FC Basel.