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Manchester United and Manchester City have hit hurdles to their Champions League campaigns before the group stage even kicks off tomorrow night. Captain Wayne Rooney has been ruled out for the Red Devils’ visit to PSV Eindhoven as they confirmed on their official website, while talismanic striker Sergio Aguero will play no part in the Sky Blues’ game against Juventus at the Etihad.
Both clubs qualified for Champions League action this season by making it into the top 4 of last season, although United had to go through the qualifying stage by virtue of finishing in fourth place. Despite their recent loss to Swansea, the subsequent victory at home over rivals Liverpool should give Louis van Gaal’s side the right impetus to start off their Champions League campaign in the tough tie they face at the Philips Stadion where they have never won before.
The Citizens, though surely disappointed by the injury that Aguero picked up in the last minute victory over Crystal Palace, will be confident hosting the defending Italian champions Juventus at the Etihad. Manuel Pellegrini’s men have not conceded a single goal so far this season and have a 100% win record in the league while Max Allegri’s Juve side have spluttered and are struggling to start in their 3 league games so far with one solitary point gained over last weekend.
Manchester United's striking options
United have few back-up options after Wayne Rooney to spearhead their attack. They will take solace in Anthony Martial's cameo performance against Liverpool as he scored an Henry-esque goal to seal victory for his team.
Apart from the youngster, Louis van Gaal has put his faith in the Belgian Marouane Fellaini as a striker this season but the former Everton player looks unconvincing in that role so far, although he did score a late goal for his side in the first leg of the UCL qualifiers against Club Brugge.
Their only other option for an out-and-out striker would be another youngster James Wilson but he has so far looked unlikely to feature, but given the Dutch manager's unpredictability, it could be an option he might just consider.
Manchester City's hoodoo
The Chilean boss at City will not be pleased to lose a player of Aguero's calibre but will be glad to have David Silva and Raheem sterling back in the mix after they missed the weekend's narrow win over Palace. The scorer in that game was a 19-year-old Kelechi Iheanacho who will hope to capitalise on this opportunity to break into Pellegrini's starting XI but realistically only has an outside chance of leading the line for the Citizens this weekend.
The biggest hurdle for the Nigerian striker will be the presence of Wilfried Bony, who is likely to slot right into the Aguero shaped hole at the tip of City’s formation. The club’s bigger focus, however, will be to shake off the hoodoo that has been hanging over their head for a long time now as once again they’ve been placed in the group of death and have failed to go past the round of 16 phase in the competition. It is a trophy that they will firmly have in their sights now as they seek to establish themselves as a European powerhouse.
There will be a host of action from all groups over 2 days as the Champions League kicks off for 2015/16. It will see the best in Europe pitted against each other as league form goes out of the window and every side starts with a blank slate and their resolve will be tested over the course of the season.
