So Manchester United are pretty damn boring. Eh? How did that happen?  More on that later. First, let’s get the nitty gritty out of the way. The Louis van Gaal Process reaches a critical juncture in Germany this evening and if United aren’t careful, they’re going to find themselves in the Europa League, which we can safely assume is not how they envisaged their return to the Champions League - it was a truly devastating one-year absence, poor them - turning out. That goalless draw with PSV Eindhoven two weeks ago has left them in a fragile position. If they draw with Wolfsburg tonight, then they’ll be relying on PSV Eindhoven failing to win at home against CSKA Moscow and if United lose, they’ll need CSKA to win. CSKA, for what it’s worth, are already out, although they can still nab the Europa League spot off PSV.  The likeliest scenario is that United are going to need a win. And in order to get one, they’re going to have to do a goal - or maybe even two goals. I know, crazy.  Yet United haven’t been big on goals lately. Saturday’s 0-0 draw with West Ham was their sixth goalless stalemate of the season and it is getting to the point where you wonder if any forward can flourish in Van Gaal’s system. United’s manager seems obsessed with control. His team defends well and they are capable of dominating possession, yet their passing is too often lacking in incision and ambition, and United have become dreadful to watch. Do try to stay awake tonight, even though this is a team that can make you want to knock on your neighbour’s door and do their tax return for them. United have good attacking players, but is their own manager’s tactics squeezing the life out of them? If so, it can’t be particularly hard for opposing defenders to do the necessary.  The hope for Van Gaal is that United can control their way to a precious victory tonight. Their solid defence gives them every chance of doing so and then it’s a question of coming up with a moment of rarely seen inspiration in front of goal. Yet United have travelled to Germany with a scratch squad. Wayne Rooney, Marcos Rojo, Luke Shaw, Antonio Valencia, Ander Herrera, Phil Jones and Morgan Schneiderlin are all out. Can Anthony Martial or Memphis Depay do something special?  Wolfsburg, fifth in the Bundesliga, will have other ideas. They lost 2-1 to United at Old Trafford in their opening match, but they top the group and will qualify for the last 16 with a draw. Although they struggled to absorb the sale of Kevin de Bruyne early on, they have improved and Julian Draxler is starting to make good on his potential after his move from Schalke. Still, Wolfsburg did lose their 29-match unbeaten home run to Borussia Dortmund on the weekend. Perhaps we all shall be hailing The Process in a couple of years.  Kick-off: 7.45pm GMT, 8.45pm in Germany.
Manchester United dropped out of the Champions League and into the Europa League after a 3-2 defeat to Wolfsburg