Carrick Relishing Wolfsburg Reunion

Michael Carrick is looking forward to a reunion with Wolfsburg as he admits Manchester United have missed hosting Champions League group games at Old Trafford.

After losing the opening Group B fixture in PSV Eindhoven, the Reds are under pressure to pick up three points against the Bundesliga outfit on Wednesday and the ground will be rocking as Louis van Gaal's side aim to translate impressive domestic form onto the European scene.

United spent last season out of the competition and the absence was clearly felt across the continent. Carrick was asked, without wishing to sound conceited, if there was the impression the Champions League may also have missed United to a degree.

"Maybe," the midfielder replied to Inside United, the official club magazine. "I think, sitting here now, if one of the other big teams wasn’t in it then perhaps it wouldn’t quite feel the same.

"But you’ve got to earn the right to be in it and you must deserve to be there. We missed it badly as a club last year and, as players, we missed it a lot too." As Wolfsburg were probably the toughest of all the potential opponents in pot four when the draw was made, the group was always likely to be tricky and that is proving to be the case after the PSV defeat.

"You can look it at in a number of ways," said Carrick. "To be honest, I think you can spend too much time thinking about it. At the end of day, that’s the group we’ve been given and we have got to back ourselves to go through. They are going to be tough games for different reasons but that is what the Champions League is for – to test yourself against the best in tough conditions. We’ll be ready for that."

United beat Wolfsburg in both games in the only previous meetings in 2009, winning 2-1 at home before securing a 3-1 triumph at the Volkswagen Arena. Carrick was on the scoresheet at Old Trafford, along with Ryan Giggs, while Michael Owen hit a hat-trick in Germany.

"I did score against Wolfsburg actually," added Carrick. "It was 2009/10. I remember the away game as we had a patched-up team – it was me, Fletch [Darren Fletcher] and Pat [Patrice Evra] at the back. I’m pretty sure I played centre-half with Pat and Fletch played right-back but Michael Owen scored a hat-trick. I remember that one!

"Kevin De Bruyne was a good player for them [before joining Manchester City] but, from what I’ve seen, they are a good team. For German teams to qualify through that league, they must be strong and you have got to take them seriously. It will be a tough game but there are not really any easy games in the Champions League."