Monday, 5th December, 2011
Sir Alex Ferguson believes his Manchester United side are capable of putting in a superb display against Swiss giants FC Basel to secure progression to the Champions League knockout phase.
United must avoid defeat at St. Jakob Park on Wednesday, while for Basel beating the English champions would see them through to the Round of 16.
The Swiss side sprung a surprise on United when the two met at Old Trafford, leaving with a 3-3 draw that could so easily have been a win.
And Ferguson, whose side have been below par in the Champions League this season, knows that the simple maths for Basel – win and go through – will help the Swiss champions focus, meaning United need to record a top notch performance.
"Our form away from home in Europe over the last three or four years has been fantastic", said Ferguson.
"We’ve done really well and it needs to be that kind of performance on Wednesday.
"The only advantage is they do need to win and they have to try to beat us. We’ve always kept good possession of the ball and made that a dominating factor of our game. It can take the temperature out of the game."
The United manager is not concerned about Basel’s St. Jakob Park being an intimidating place to visit either, pointing to previous hostile places the Red Devils have played.
"We went to Besiktas and Bursaspor and the noise was incredible, but you can kill that with good possession of the ball and the concentration levels have been really terrific.
"You need that in these games."
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