PSV Eindhoven Vs Manchester United, 9:45pm. Philips Stadion
Manchester United striker and captain Wayne Rooney has been ruled out of tonight’sChampion’s League match against Dutch side PSV due to hamstring injury he sustained in training before the Liverpool game on Saturday.
Rooney was left out of the squad that travelled to Netherlands on Monday by the Red Devils coach Luis Van Gaal who also sidelined the striker in last Saturday’s 3-0 win over Liverpool.
“He doesn’t know if his side can be champion’s league contenders”. United did not play in the competition after failing to qualify last season but have bounced back this season after finishing fourth behind Arsenal, rivals Manchester City and champions Chelsea.
Last month Manchester United beat Club Brugge by 7-1 in the Champions League qualification round where they emerged victorious to be grouped in group B against CSKA, Vfl Wolfsburg and PSV Eindhoven.
“We qualified ourselves this year and that was our aim so now, we have to show if we are able to play at that level and that I don’t know, either. I have to wait and see. I think champion’s league is a higher podium than premier league,” said Van Gaal.
Van Gaal has spent more than 200m dollars since he joined the club in acquiring players likes of Memphis Depay, Daley Blind, Anthony Martial, Marcos Rojo, Romero and Andy Herreira but he still does know whether his squad is capable of being a major force in Europe.
Memphis Depay scored in the Champion’s League against Brugge but has not scored in the Barclays Premier League and he is likely to face his former club and coach Phillip Cocu who backs Depay will be a success at old Trafford.
However, van Gaal also hinted that the new boy Martial may not start the game despite the French goal scoring debut from the bench against Liverpool over the weekend citing that he needs time to rest.
“A draw away is always good in my opinion but i want to win and the first match, it’s very important,” said the 64 year old Dutchman.
In today’s other fixtures all 3:45pm.
Man City Vs Juventus
Real Madrid Vs Shakhtar
Wolfsburg Vs CSKA Moscow
Benfica Vs Estana
Paris SG Vs Malmo
Sevilla Vs Monchengladbach
