Wolfsburg must sink or swim at United

Buoyed by three points on their UEFA Champions League debut, VfL Wolfsburg now face the prospect of visiting Manchester United FC for their first away fixture in the competition. The German newcomers could hardly have been handed a more daunting trip than to Old Trafford, where United have not lost in 21 UEFA Champions League matches.

Match background
• Sir Alex Ferguson's United have not lost a home game in the UEFA Champions League since a 1-0 defeat by AC Milan in February 2005.

• The Premier League champions recorded three wins and three draws at home en route to the final of last season's competition.

• United's last meeting with German opposition at Old Trafford was a 2-0 victory against VfB Stuttgart in the 2003/04 group stage.

• This is Wolfsburg's maiden trip to England, although they did emerge victorious from their first encounter with an English team last season – beating Portsmouth FC 3-2 in the UEFA Cup group stage with goals from Edin Džeko, Zvjezdan Misimović and Christian Gentner.

• Wolfsburg lost only once in four away matches in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup and earned a creditable 2-2 draw at Milan to secure first place in their section.

Team ties
• Sir Alex has twice claimed European honours against German clubs – Aberdeen FC defeated Hamburger SV to land the 1983 UEFA Super Cup and United beat FC Bayern München in the 1999 UEFA Champions League final.

• Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh oversaw Stuttgart's away-goals defeat by Middlesbrough FC in the 2005/06 UEFA Cup round of 32. The Bundesliga side won the second leg 1-0 in England, but it was not enough to undo the damage of a 2-1 home loss. Those two games were Veh's first taste of European competition as a coach.

• United forward Dimitar Berbatov scored twice in eight Bundesliga matches against Wolfsburg during five and a half years with Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

• Wolfsburg striker Obafemi Martins was on target for Newcastle United FC in a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on the opening day of the 2008/09 Premier League season. His other visit to the stadium with Newcastle ended in a 2-0 defeat in October 2006.

• Wolfsburg midfielder Misimović played two games alongside United's Owen Hargreaves at Bayern in the 2003/04 Bundesliga, both of them wins. Misimović was also in the 1. FC Nürnberg side that lost 2-0 at home to Everton FC in the 2007/08 UEFA Cup group stage.

• Karim Ziani has played at nearby Anfield twice in the group stage in the last two years, Olympique de Marseille beating Liverpool FC 1-0 in October 2007 and the scoreline was reversed last November.

• Diego Benaglio was in the Switzerland team beaten 2-1 by England in a Wembley friendly in February 2008.