Source: Telegraph
Sir Alex Ferguson wary of Wolfsburg goal threat
Bosnia international Edin Dzeko and Brazilian forward Grafite scored 71 goals between them as Wolfsburg upset the odds to secure their first-ever Bundesliga title last season.
Dzeko and Grafite have already scored nine goals between them this campaign, with Grafite hitting a hat-trick in the 4-1 Group B opener against CSKA Moscow earlier this month.
Ferguson, who confessed to monitoring the giant Dzeko as a possible summer transfer target, admits that shackling the pair will be a prime objective for United at Old Trafford.
He said: “The two strikers scored an incredible tally of goals last season. 71 in a season is incredible for two strikers.
“In terms of Dzeko, he was a player we saw and I was very impressed by him. Wolfsburg are a team that scores a lot of goals, but they also lose a few.
“They beat Hannover 4-2 at the weekend, but they play a lot of open matches. Towards the end of last season, they beat Bayern Munich 5-1 and then won 4-0 on the final day, so they can be emphatic.
“Germany is a great football nation, so it says a lot about Wolfsburg’s progress that they were able to overcome the bigger clubs to win the league last year.
“Countries like Germany are always capable of providing the team that wins the Champions League, so I’d think that Wolfsburg are the biggest threat to us in this group.”
Victory against Wolfsburg would leave United facing the possibility of wrapping up qualification during their forthcoming double-header against CSKA Moscow.
Ferguson said: “In a group of four teams, you just want to get to 10 points as quickly as possible.
“The quicker you do it, the better it is for obvious reasons. But we have only played once so far and we have to maintain our consistency and concentration in these matches.”
Ji-sung Park is set to miss out against Wolfsburg due to a virus, but Michael Owen is likely to be on the bench, despite a groin strain that has prevented the forward training this week.
Owen Hargreaves has yet to begin football training since returning to the club from the USA last Wednesday, but Ferguson expects the midfielder to speed up his comeback from double knee surgery next month.
He said: “We are looking to get Owen back in football training in ten days’ time. If that happens, then he should be back by the beginning of November I’d think.”
