David Moyes
David Moyes' troubled first season in charge of Manchester United would suddenly appear much rosier if he can lead his side past Bayern Munich. Reuters

David Moyes is targeting an even better performance from his Manchester United side than the one that earned a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich last week and gives them a chance of upsetting the holders to make the Champions League semifinals in Germany on Wednesday.

United put in a textbook rearguard effort against Bayern at Old Trafford. While dominated in the possession stakes, the Premier League champions held their rivals to precious few chances and caused a couple of notable problems of their own on the counter-attack. Still, especially in the first half, United’s midfield was all too often anxious and wasteful in possession. And that is something that Moyes is hoping will be corrected at the Allianz Arena.

"The players have to be technically good on the ball," he said, according to Manchester United’s official website. "The players need to do better in possession, but I think we need the same spirit and same determination as the first leg to get through.

"We'll need a very good performance from everybody. It's a game where you won't be able to carry any passengers. But it's also a game everyone is really looking forward to. We're really well prepared by beating Newcastle 4-0 at the weekend. The players are going into the game in a good frame of mind.”

Manchester United will be unable to call upon the star of that performance at the weekend, Juan Mata, who is again ineligible having played for Chelsea earlier in the competition. Marouane Fellaini and Rafael are also ruled out through injury. But Moyes hopes to have Wayne Rooney at his disposal in Munich, despite a toe injury having led him to miss out against Newcastle.

“Wayne was able to train and he is massively keen to play,” Moyes explained. “He's not trained all week so we have to be wary of that. We'll do everything we possibly can. He’s happy to take an injection to play in the game, which shows you his feeling about the game and about the club.”

Bayern have plenty of their own players unavailable as they look to avoid relinquishing their Champions League crown. Bastian Schweinsteiger is suspended following his sending off at Old Trafford. With Javi Martinez also suspended, Bayern’s midfield options are further depleted by an injury that continues to rule out Thiago Alcantara. Swiss attacking midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri also went down in a weekend defeat to Augsburg with a torn thigh muscle.

The loss at lowly Augsburg was Bayern’s first in the Bundesliga in 18 months. Although it means little with, Bayern having already sewn up the Bundesliga title, their season is suddenly under threat of ending in a considerable anti-climax with a quarterfinal tie still firmly in the balance.

“One-all is a risky scoreline, we could not win in Manchester,” Guardiola said, according to UEFA.com. “But I am sure we will go through. We need a good performance and we want to win the game.

“In a quarter-final you never have a second chance. The pressure is high and we have always done well in this situation. It is all about small tactical details. Our players know after the experience in Manchester how United play. My players know their strengths and weaknesses. United are a very big team. Before the first game, everybody was just talking about Bayern. But now people know that United can win in Munich too. But we will play at home, with our fans we can win this game.”

Probable Lineups

Bayern Munich

G: Neuer

D: Rafinha, Dante, Boateng, Alaba

M: Lahm, Kroos

Robben, Gotze, Ribery

F: Mandzukic

Manchester United

G: De Gea

D: Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra

M: Carrick, Fletcher

Valencia, Kagawa, Welbeck

F: Rooney

Where to watch: The second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal will kick off at 2.45 p.m. ET. TV coverage will be provided by Fox Sports 1, with a live stream available via Fox Soccer 2Go.