Manchester United return to the Champions League after a season’s absence (was it really just one season, it feels longer than that) on Tuesday night when they take on Club Brugge at Old Trafford. There will be goose bumps all round when the anthem is played just before kick-off, especially for the debutants in the competition, such as Morgan Schneiderlin and Matteo Darmian.

The transfer window still has two weeks to run and Manchester United’s squad may look very different come 1 September but the players currently in situ should give an indication on how Louis van Gaal’s team will do against Brugge and, if they progress, in the tournament as a whole.

A look at the team expected to start the game against the Belgians shows us an almighty mix of new arrivals (Schneiderlin, Sergio Romero, Darmian and Memphis Depay), seasoned performers such as Wayne Rooney and Michael Carrick and youthful promise in Adnan Januzaj.



Expected Manchester United lineup against Club Brugge in 2015. Photograph: Guardian

A good mix and a set of players who should overcome Brugge, but there is a certain lack of stardust that could hamper United in the group stages and, certainly, in the knockout stage. Pedro arriving would change that to a certain extent but there is no denying that there is still something missing from making this group of players serious contenders this season.

One thing Van Gaal did over the summer, though, was to bring in Champions League experience in the shape of Bastian Schweinsteiger. A winner, of course, with Bayern in 2013, when they beat Borussia Dortmund in the final at Wembley, he has played 89 games in the competition, more than any other United player. The only other players in United’s squad to have played more than 50 games in Europe’s premier competition are Wayne Rooney (81) and Michael Carrick (68).

Schweinsteiger will be of an enormous help to Van Gaal this season. But experience is not everything as in the 2013-14 Champions League campaign United could call on Rooney and Carrick as well as Nemanja Vidic and Patrice Evra. Those four were in the team that briefly threatened Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena, and even took the lead through the French left-back, but were ultimately outplayed and lost 3-1 on the night and on aggregate.



Manchester United’s starting lineup against Bayern Munich in 2014. Photograph: Guardian

That night David Moyes lined up in a 4-5-1 formation with Danny Welbeck on his own up front and although the team managed to stifle Pep Guardiola’s team for the opening 45 minutes there was an inevitability about the defeat. Remember that his was the United version that lost limply to Olympiakos in the previous round.

It is fair to say that Van Gaal’s squad, even before any reinforcements are taken into account, is better than the 2013-14 version and do not forget to add the fact that the Dutchman himself is a seasoned Champions League campaigner in contrast to Moyes.

But the team that perhaps offers the best perspective to where United stand today is a look at the last time they won the tournament, in 2008. When they beat Chelsea in Moscow on penalties, Sir Alex Ferguson was able to start with a host of players in the world-class bracket. Up front with (a younger) Rooney was the indefatigable Carlos Tevez. In midfield there was the experience of Paul Scholes and Owen Hargreaves coupled with the one standout name that United have never been able to replace: Cristiano Ronaldo.

Manchester United’s starting lineup against Chelsea in 2008. Photograph: Guardian

That is not United’s fault as the Portuguese forward is pretty much irreplaceable. No player coming in would be as good because he is one of the two best players in the world. The only way is down. But it is undeniable that you need that kind of player to go far in the Champions League these days.

A fair assessment, then, of where United stand this season is that they have improved a lot since they last played in the tournament but there is still an awful long way to go to the team that last won the tournament for them and went so far, so often between 2008 and 2011.

Finally, a look at the substitutes’ bench is often a good indicator to the strength of a squad and this is how the United bench looked against Chelsea in 2008 and Bayern Munich in 2014 and how it could look against Club Brugge on Tuesday night:

v Chelsea in 2008 Tomasz Kuszcak, John O’Shea, Mikaël Silvestre, Anderson, Ryan Giggs, Nani, Darren Fletcher

v Bayern in 2014 Anders Lindegaard, Rio Ferdinand, Alex Büttner, Ashley Young, Adnan Januzaj, Ryan Giggs, Javier Hernández

(probable) v Club Brugge Sam Johnstone, Paddy McNair, Ander Herrera, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Antonio Valencia, Ashley Young, Javier Hernández