5 Pivotal Factors to Decide Champions League Group B
Manchester United's return to the UEFA Champions League sees the Red Devils placed in Group B with PSV Eindhoven, CSKA Moscow and VfL Wolfsburg.
As Dutch champions, PSV entered the group as the seeded team, but Group B appears wide open. Manchester United and manager Louis van Gaal will fancy their chances of topping the section, but CSKA and Wolfsburg will present stiff challenges.
Here B/R outlines five pivotal factors that could decide the group.
Full Fixtures
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Here is an overview of the fixtures in Group B. Home teams are listed first.
Sept. 15
Wolfsburg vs. CSKA Moscow
PSV Eindhoven vs. Manchester United
Sept. 30
Manchester United vs. Wolfsburg
CSKA Moscow vs. PSV Eindhoven
Oct. 21
CSKA Moscow vs. Manchester United
Wolfsburg vs. PSV Eindhoven
Nov. 3
Manchester United vs. CSKA Moscow
PSV Eindhoven vs. Wolfsburg
Nov. 25
CSKA Moscow vs. Wolfsburg
Manchester United vs. PSV Eindhoven
Dec. 8
Wolfsburg vs. Manchester United
PSV Eindhoven vs. CSKA Moscow
A Favorable Draw
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For three of the four teams in Group B, the draw was undeniably favorable. Of the eight top seeds, PSV Eindhoven probably represented the weakest side.
The 2014-15 Dutch champions held the lowest UEFA coefficient in Pot 1 at the time of the draw (h/t UEFA.com), coming in as the 30th-best club in Europe. But because of their status as defending Eredivisie champions, PSV entered the group stage as one of eight seeded teams.
To their credit, PSV enjoyed a fine 2014-15 season, beating out Ajax for the Dutch title by a massive 17 points. In the summer, however, the transfer market whisked away standout attackers Memphis Depay (to Manchester United) and Georginio Wijnaldum (Newcastle United). Those losses hurt Phillip Cocu's side considerably, as Miguel Delaney noted at ESPN FC:
"In another era, or even up to a few years ago, PSV Eindhoven could have been really dangerous outsiders for this competition. They could have been a 1999 Dynamo Kiev, a 2004 Porto or even a 2005 PSV, given the immense young talent they had last season. As it is, the brutal and restrictive realities of this era have already been enforced.
PSV have had to sell more than €50 million worth of that talent this summer, and it only adds further sting that they now have to face Memphis Depay's new team in Manchester United—all while effectively building a new team themselves. The top seeds could well finish bottom of this group.
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So instead of drawing an elite Pot 1 club such as Barcelona or Bayern Munich, the three unseeded teams drew a weakened PSV side. As a result, Group B appears wide open.
A Reunion in Eindhoven
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Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal refused to accept that his side had landed in a favorable group.
"It could be worse, and it could be better," the Dutchman said at a news conference following the draw last month (h/t Ian Whittell of Yahoo! Sports). “So it is always with a draw. We have to analyse the other teams and we have to analyse the other teams at this moment because you can look at the past but the present is more important."
Perhaps it could have been worse, but Van Gaal would have to admit United will have at least one advantage heading into their first group game, at PSV Eindhoven. To wit: United will have Memphis Depay, and PSV won't.
Depay, 21, scored 39 goals in 90 appearances over four years with PSV before joining United over the summer in a deal worth £25 million, according to Daniel Taylor at the Guardian. The Dutch winger showcased a glimpse of his value in the playoff round of Champions League qualifying, scoring a pair of lovely goals in the first leg against Club Brugge. He added a clever assist for Wayne Rooney in the return leg.
But although his arrival has strengthened United for a challenge on multiple fronts, his departure has perhaps hurt PSV even more. With 22 goals, Depay finished the 2014-15 season as top scorer in the Eredivisie. His goals helped fire PSV to a league title, and his exit has left a gaping hole in PSV's attack.
Matchday 1 will give Depay the chance to remind his old club what it's missing—and to give his new club a strong start to the Champions League campaign after a one-year absence.
Can Wolfsburg Overcome the Loss of De Bruyne?
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Wolfsburg will be appearing in the Champions League group stage for the first time since 2009-10 following a second-place finish in the Bundesliga last term. But the squad that thrilled Germany throughout the previous season will be missing one key component this time around: Belgian attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.
Just before the end of the summer transfer window, De Bruyne signed for Manchester City in a deal worth £54 million, per Mark Ogden and Mike Whalley at the Daily Telegraph. In their report, Ogden and Whalley called De Bruyne "one of Europe's leading attacking midfielders," a label that makes perfect sense to anyone who watched the Belgian play last season.
The departure of such a talented and exciting player will obviously hurt Wolfsburg, but the Bundesliga club managed to recruit a couple of new players with that enormous windfall before the transfer window closed. Shortly after selling De Bruyne to City, Wolfsburg signed Julian Draxler, a 21-year-old German winger from Schalke, and defender Dante from Bayern Munich. Earlier in the summer, the Wolves had already added forward Max Kruse from Borussia Monchengladbach.
The new signings will need time to settle into the squad, which is already packed with quality, but Wolfsburg have started the season well. Following a win and a draw to start the new Bundesliga campaign, the Wolves defeated Schalke 3-0 before drawing with Ingolstadt to move up to third place in the table.
Even without De Bruyne, Wolfsburg will be a formidable opponent for the three other teams in Group B.
A Trip to Moscow
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The trip to Moscow will not be easy for any of Manchester United, PSV Eindhoven and Wolfsburg. In Alan Dzagoev, Ahmed Musa and Seydou Doumbia, CSKA have talented attacking players that can trouble many opponents. And the length of the trip itself, across the heart of the continent, is a daunting prospect for any western European side.
But some nights in Moscow can be more difficult than others.
PSV will visit the Russian capital in September, when the average high temperature is 16 degrees Celsius (61 degrees Fahrenheit), according to the BBC. Manchester United will visit in October, when the average high is 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit). Wolfsburg will visit in late November, when the average high is just above freezing at 2 degrees Celsius (35 degrees Fahrenheit).
It could be worse: None of those games fall during the heart of winter, when conditions can be brutal. But Wolfsburg's trip to Russia has the highest potential for frigid temperatures, and even in November, that could affect the complexion of the game.
David De Gea Remains with Manchester United
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As the most recent transfer deadline approached, Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea appeared set for a transfer to Real Madrid. A deal nearly went through, in fact, but it wasn't completed before the window closed.
The transfer debacle was an embarrassing situation for both United and Real, but regardless, it means United will now have De Gea's services until at least January—and possibly beyond after he inked a new four-year deal. And with Euro 2016 on the horizon, the Spanish shot-stopper knows he can't afford to stay on the bench all season as a form of protest.
De Gea's stops were a key component in Manchester United's fourth-place finish last season in the Premier League, and his continued presence in goal can only help the team. His stay might have been unexpected, but both player and club will now hope to make the most of the situation.
