Manchester United are all set to take on Club Brugge in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-off game at the Old Trafford on Tuesday,18 August.
This is indeed a huge moment for the players and manager Louis Van Gaal, as the Champions League action returns to Old Trafford after a season's gap.
They worked hard in the last season but finished fourth in the league table and so will have to overcome the play-off in order to qualify for the league stages of the UEFA Champions League 2015-2016 season.
The players are primed to deliver a positive performance in Tuesday's first leg tie against the Belgian side who will be playing the Red Devils in the European Championship for the first time since its inception.
United have gone off to a positive start in English Premier League (EPL) 2015-2016 edition. With two back-to-back wins, United have got just the kind of momentum they were looking for.
Central midfielder Michael Carrick had mentioned on Monday that the wins have boosted their confidence. All they will be looking for from these two fixtures (home and away) against Club Brugge, are two wins. United will take on Newcastle in their third fixture of the EPL this summer and would look to make it three in three before Saturday's tie.
The team is devoid of any injuries, except for Phil Jones who has been suffering from mild thrombosis. Marouane Fellaini might just get his first action this summer as he is available for this game. Juan Mata has been in superb touch ever since the pre-season tour in the US.
Depay has also started to settle down amongst the Red Devils. Skipper Wayne Rooney's goalless streak could be a cause for concern, but manager Van Gaal has played it down, saying he (Rooney) would soon be back to scoring goals.
Adnan Januzaj, who scored the winning goal against Aston Villa last Saturday, might just have to wait for his Champions League action as Ander Herrera might be boss' first choice.
"I'd not played for a long time, so I was happy to score my first goal of the season [against Villa]. I'm happy to play and give everything for the manager and the club. Last year was last year, and this year is this year. I'm happy at United and I'm happy with the way the manager has worked with me, so I don't have any issues with that," Januzaj told MUTV on Monday.
Meanwhile, Club Brugge cannot be dismissed as minnows in this all-important fixture on Tuesday at the 'Theatre of Dreams.' They defeated a strong Panathinaikos side last season to qualify for the Champions League play-off stage and are likely to put up a good fight against United.
Club Brugge finished second in the Belgian League table last season, which earned them this tie. They are a hard working club and a rugged challenge awaits the Red Devils.
Belgian sides have a poor record against English clubs in this competition. Of the 11 times Brugge has travelled to England to play against an EPL side, they have lost nine times.
The other clubs also do not have anything worthwhile to showcase against the big clubs in the EPL. This fixture means a lot to United as they would be desperate to make it to the league stages of the UEFA Champions League 2015-2016 season. Given that the silverware has not arrived at the club since 2008, Van Gaal would want his players to put up a good show in this tournament as well alongside the EPL.
Probable XI:
Manchester United: Romero; Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw; Carrick, Schneiderlin; Depay, Herrera, Mata; Rooney.
Club Brugge: Bolat; Meunier, Engles, Durate, De Bock; Vormer, Simons, Vanaken; Dierckx, Izquierdo, Diaby.
Where to watch live:
The UEFA Champions League play-off game between Manchester United and Club Brugge is scheduled for a 7:45 pm local time (12:15 am IST, 6:45 pm GMT, 2:45 pm EST) start and the live coverage of the match in India will be available on Ten Action and Ten HD. The live streaming of the same will be available on Tensports.com.
Viewers in the UK can switch to BT Sport Europe and the match between United and Brugge can be streamed live on MUTV Online.
Audience in the USA will be able to catch the action live on Fox Sports 1 USA and the live streaming options ar equite a few - Fox Soccer 2 Go, FoxSports GO, and Fox Deportes (Spanish).
Club Brugge fans in Belgium can stream the Champions League play-off action live on Proximus 11, Esporte Interativo and 2BE.
Soccer fans in Australia can switch their attention to beIn Sports and stream the same live on beIn Sports Connect.
Viewers in the Middle-East can watch the Champions League play-off action between Manchester United and Club Brugge live on beIn Sports Connect Arabia and stream the same on beIn Sports Connect.
