Louis van Gaal’s record against Wolfsburg will buoy Man United

Realistically, Manchester United need to go to Wolfsburg and win if they want to stay in the Champions League.

Louis van Gaal's team are a point behind their German opponents and one clear of PSV Eindhoven going into the final round of group games. But PSV are at home to a CSKA Moscow side that has lost seven of its last eight away games in the competition - the only exception being a 2-1 win at nine-man Manchester City last season. United will be clinging to any positive omen they can - and Van Gaal's record against Wolfsburg certainly falls into that category. Van Gaal faced the club - then managed by Steve McClaren, among others - four times during two seasons in charge of Bayern Munich. And Bayern won three of the four, including a 3-0 victory just four games into Van Gaal's reign and a 3-1 win at the Volkswagen Arena. Coincidentally, that same period saw Wolfsburg take on Manchester United in the Champions League group stage, and like this year the final group game was a meeting between the two teams in Germany. Sir Alex Ferguson's men won on that occasion - with Michael Owen scoring a hat-trick in a 3-1 victory - to top a group which also contained CSKA.