David Moyes' first Champions League group stage match gets underway tonight as Man United host Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen.

While there will be question marks about the way in which Moyes will approach his debut campaign, the 2002 finalists pose an interesting challenge.

So what can United expect?

 

Style

Managed by former Liverpool centre-half Sami Hyypia, 'Neverkusen' as they are often called - due to their propensity to miss out on trophies - have not deviated from the 4-3-3 they used last season.

They are predominantly a counter-attacking team who drop deep before pouncing on the break at pace. Last season they had the second highest rate of counter-attacking goals in the German top tier with 10 and this season they already have two which puts them joint top.

Possession is not the be all and end all for Leverkusen, who are ranked 13th out of 18 teams in terms of ball possession in the league this season. They are also ninth when it comes to the number of short passes they play per game. Their 346 short passes per game is dwarfed by Man United's 456 per game. So expect the English side to have more of the ball.

 

Key players

Leverkusen lost Andre Schurrle to Chelsea but the left-sided attacking role has been filled by new arrival Son Heung-Min. Along with right sided attacker Sidney Sam, Son is not afraid to take on the full back with both players among the top 10 Bundesliga players for successful dribbles per game.  Sam provides a goal threat from the right flank as he is left-footed and is joint top Leverkusen goalscorer with centre-forward Stefan Kiesseling.

Target man Kiesseling might be unappreciated by Germany coach Jogi Low but his four goals this season add to a prolific 2012/13 when he was Bundesliga top scorer with 25 goals.

However his recent record in European competition has not been great with a single Champions League goal to his name.

 

Form

Bayer are running well this season. They are currently third behind Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich in this season's Bundesliga. They have won four of their first five league games this season.

 The video below shows this weekend's 3 - 1 win over Wolfsburg. Sidney Sam scored the opener, while Stefan Kiesseling netted a brace: