Basel vs Manchester United Match Preview
FC Basel will play host to Manchester United with qualification to the UEFA Champions League knockout stages on the line.
United are currently tied for the Group C lead with Benfica on nine points, while third placed Basel are only one point further back.
A win or draw in this game will guarantee United progress to the next round, while to qualify as group winners United must get a better result than Benfica achieve against last placed Otelul Galati.
If Basel beat United, then they will qualify for the last 16 at the expense of their more illustrious English opponents.
Benjamin Huggel and Valentin Stocker are injury doubts for Basel and will be assessed ahead of kickoff. Alexander and Fabian Frei will both feature for Basel in this game, and the namesake pair have combined for seven goals and one assist so far in this competition.
United have a lengthy injury list that includes strike trio Javier Hernandez, Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen. Tom Cleverley is also ruled out for the Red Devils, along with Brazilian trio Rafael, Fabio and Anderson.
Midfielder Michael Carrick is suspended for United, while Ashley Young is expected to play. England winger Young spoke this week about the attacking mentality United intend to bring into this game.
“It would be dangerous to think we only need a draw (to qualify),” Young told BBC Sport. “No-one at this club has that mentality. We still have it in our hands to go out the and qualify, which was the main target and we will be trying to win.”