Otelul Galati vs United Champions League Preview

Introduction
Manchester United travel to Bucharest in the middle of a fixture maelstrom, this the second of seven fixtures in twenty days. Having drawn the first two group games and sitting wryly 3rd in the table, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will be looking for their first win in Europe this season and anything other than that will be felt like havoc. That being said, this encounter is the right match for United, less pressurized on the pitch than domestic football; a chance to get cobwebs shaken from heads and the continental passing game going once more.

United’s opponents on the night, Otelul Galati, made their champions league debut this season and fared reasonably well against tough oppositions like Benfica and Basel, albeit there’s nothing to show on the board. On Tuesday night, which is supposed to be the biggest night in club’s history, Romanian outfit will be eager to snatch their first point in Europe against an illustrious opposition in Manchester United. Having lost their first two games, it’s fair to say that, even the deep- rooted, dyed-in-the-wool Otelul supporters wouldn’t be expecting their team to be the knock-out stages.

Anyone expecting Otelul Galati to lie down and let United walk all over them may be in for a nasty surprise, though. As they often say, no easy games in Champions league and Ferguson’s been in football long enough to know that well.

StatZone by Rahul Singh
United began the legendary 1998-99 European campaign with two draws, but eventually ended up conquering Europe.

Otelul Galati will be playing an English club for the first time in their history, while United have played a Romanian club only once before - Dinamo Bucharest in 2004-05.

They are strong defensively, having conceded just 25 goals in 34 league games last season, and going unbeaten at home.

Last season, United did not concede a single goal in 540 minutes of away action en route to the final. So far this season already conceded 4 goals in 2 games.

The Opposition
Otelul Galati are making their first appearance in Champions league, having won the Romanian top division Liga title for the first time in their 46 years history. As their home ground doesn’t meet UEFA standards, they are playing their home matches in the National stadium in Bucharest. Like any other eastern European countries, a boisterous and hostile atmosphere will be welcoming United in the Romanian capital. That’s not to say Bucharest is an unknown, strange city to visit for United. To qualify for group stages of 2004-05 Champions league campaign, United visited the same stadium to face a stiff opposition in Dinamo Bucharest. An injury ravaged squad with Roy Keane and Silvestre as centre halves earned a hard fought win, before annihilating then Romanian champions 3-0 in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford. More about opposition; Otelul Galati currently sit 9th in the league with 3 wins, 3 draws and 4 losses; you know, not exactly how they would have liked their title defence to get underway.

Manager Dorinel Munteanu is an illustrious name in Romanian football history. A short trip back down the memory lane might be enough for every English fan to relive Munteanu’s cracking left-foot volley and harrumphing celebration in a match England eventually lost and made an early exit (shocker) at Euro 2000. 

Transformation of a bottom-half side to Romanian champions in just two years is a fine achievement by any standards and Munteanu deserves a large share of credit in Galati's turn of fortune. He prefers his side to play a defensively compact, aggressive and counter attacking football. If their first two games in Europe are anything to go by, Otelul Galati will be a difficult opposition to break down and have the discipline to play without the ball for long spells. Put simply, they make you work for it. But 'intensity without finesse' football could be very close to insignificant in Europe and Munteanu's team will be in need of a huge chunk of luck to manage anything out of this tie against English champions. The home side will be looking to Liviu Antal, Gabriel Paraschiv and Marius Pena to make a relevant impact in this big game.

United
Two points from two games and 3rd place in the table are fair reflections of how United have performed in Europe so far this season. Bountiful experience and relatively cozy opponents (compared to previous seasons) mean United remain favourites to top the group but self-conceit and complacency are something to be fearful of. As the stuffing up of historic proportions against Basel showed, odd moments of disconcerting sloppiness will not go unpunished in Europe and it is something the whole squad needs to work on. United have already conceded 4 goals this season- as many goals as they had to concede before going to Wembley a season before. From post match comments it was evident that both the manager and players were concerned with the sloppiness shown in the second half against FC Basel. United’s typical European away set up with a cautious and persistent approach will be enough to bring a huge improvement and see off this Romanian opposition. With all due respect to opponents, it is condescending to say this really is a winnable tie if United manage to get their basics right.

 
Unlike most cases, injury news didn't dominate pre-match but the manager has taken necessary precautions ahead of Manchester derby. Among others unavailable for this tie, Rio Ferdinand didn't travel to Romania as the boss decided to leave him at home. Tom Cleverley has to wait for his Champions league debut as he hasn't fully recovered from injury yet and hopefully, will be ready for Sunday. Other absentees are Rafael da Silva and Federico Macheda. 

Flooding the midfield and putting one upfront has been a theme when it comes to United's away set up in Europe, but expect an attacking line up with two players upfront in Romania. There has been a breakdown in the application of the fluid 4-2-2-2 adopted in the early season. The hard working aspect required of the whole team, not just the midfield, went horribly awry against Norwich. Perhaps that can be attributed to the tired legs in the midfield, Cleverley's injury, slump in form of a few players. Assuming the Manchester derby coming up on Sunday won't play a massive part in deciding the starting eleven, there's a good chance of seeing Rooney, Hernandez, Nani, Anderson and Carrick return to the pitch after getting benched at Anfield. Park ji Sung might get the nod ahead of Ashley Young in pursuit of a better protection to the midfield.

A shake up in the back-line is also expected. Vidic was deemed 'not ready' on Saturday as “Liverpool game is such an intense, stamina-draining game that you want everyone to be 100 per cent“. Unless this game has come too early for him, it's highly sensible to give him his first appearance since the opening day of the season at The Hawthorns. In that case, in-form Jonny Evans will be given a rest and Chris Smalling will be asked to play in his favoured position at centre-back to partner the Serb. After a long and tiring run of games, Phil Jones may start from the bench. On the back of an indifferent display against Norwich, it'll be nonsensical to start Valencia at right back when Fabio is fully fit after a slight knock he gathered during Brazil's friendly match at Mexico.

Scoreline Prediction: 0-3
United start as huge favorites for this tie and I can't envisage anything other than three soild points at the end of it. Otelul Galati will be intent to get the 'ragtag bunch of inherited nondescripts' label off their back and happy with a stern contest.

By Redsnout (Follow me on Twitter)

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