After suffering from some off-the-field shockwaves, Manchester United are preparing to face Bursaspor in a crucial Group C match in the UEFA Champions League at Old Trafford.
In the build up to the match, it was announced by Sir Alex Ferguson that Wayne Rooney has initiated his will to leave United, which ultimately rules him out of this match and probably all of their future matches as well.
But back to the more important things, United come into the match atop of the Group C standings level on four points with Rangers FC, which is due to their smash-and-grab 1-0 win over the previous group leader, Valencia, at The Mestalla in their last match.
Bursaspor are in a contrasting position to United, because they are sitting at the foot of the standings after losing their first two matches by a combined five goals to nil against their other Group C foes.
Sir Alex said that these back-to-back fixtures during the Group Stage are vital to the progress of United in the Champions League - especially with the other group serious contenders for the group, Rangers and Valencia, having two very decisive home-and-away matches against each other.
As we have seen so far this season, though, form of the opposing teams means nothing when playing United, because, despite their undefeated start to the 2010/11 season, they are going through a bit of patchy spell.
This, coupled with the fact that fellow Süper Lig club, Beşiktaş, ending United's 23-match unbeaten streak in the group stages will surely give Bursaspor a boat load of confidence.
Whether it has all been tied up with the cloud of uncertainty that the entire Rooney debacle has brought or not still remains to be seen and it is still very uncharacteristic of United to not kill off their opposition.
About
Bursaspor qualified for the Champions League by winning the first-ever Turkish Süper Lig title.
The Yeşil Timsahlar, or Green Crocodiles, became the first team outside of the big three of Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray and Beşiktaş to win this title since 1984.
Despite this shock accomplishment, Bursaspor are undefeated and sitting at the top of their domestic league table after eight games.
Ertuğrul Sağlam's men are leading the Süper Lig for one reason - they have the top defense having only three goals scored against them with their captain, Ömer Erdoğan, anchoring the sturdy defense.
The Green Crocodiles have only scored 13 goals - which ties them with three other clubs for sixth-best in the league.
Ivan Ergic, Sercan Yildirim and Turgay Bahadir are the club's joint leading goal scorers with two goals apiece.
News
Ryan Giggs, Michael Owen and Jonny Evans have all been ruled out of this clash through injury, but Sir Alex has promised to make some changes to the team that faced West Bromwich Albion at the weekend.
Darren Fletcher and Paul Scholes should be recalled to the United line-up following being rested in that match, and the supporters inside Old Trafford could very well be treated to a Champions League debut for Bebe to provide cover on the left wing.
Manchester United has faced a whirlwind start to the 2010/11 season, but they can right their ship forget all the recent news by getting a positive result against Bursaspor in the UEFA Champions League.
Treatment
Out: A. Valencia (leg), R. Giggs (hamstring), J. Evans (hip) and M. Owen (hamstring), W. Rooney (mental); Doubtful: O. Hargreaves (knee), G. Obertan (ankle)
Projected
T. Kuszczak; J. O'Shea, W. Brown, N. Vidic, J. O'Shea; D. Fletcher, P. Scholes, D. Gibson, Nani; J. Hernandez, F. Macheda
Prediction
Manchester United 2, Bursaspor 0
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