Man Utd v Basel Alex Ferguson expressed fears last night that Manchester United's European ambitions may be thwarted by the size of his squad.

United enter the Champions League comfort zone this evening having already qualified for the quarter-finals. But Ferguson maintains he is three players short in comparison to the resources available to his main rivals for Europe's premier trophy.

"I think we are maybe two or three players short of having a squad as strong as some of the others," said Ferguson. "If you take Juventus, (AC) Milan and Inter Milan, we are probably the weakest in terms of numbers and operate with a nucleus of 17 outfield players. If we get a few injuries like we have for this game then it does make it thin."

The statistics might suggest Ferguson is displaying unnecessary pessimism. United have suffered just one defeat in their last 22 Champions League games, are the top scorers in this season's competition with 26 goals and have moved effortlessly into the knockout phase with four wins out of four. They won Group D with two games in hand.

Injuries to Roy Keane, Juan Sebastian Veron, Mikael Silvestre and Quinton Fortune have reduced Ferguson's options for tonight's clash with Basle, who still have a chance of progressing at the expense of Juventus or Deportivo la Coruna.

Ferguson will blood a couple of youngsters, possibly Kieran Richardson and Darren Fletcher, but will avoid accusations of fielding a weakened team by sticking to a relatively familiar line-up.

But Ferguson remains convinced this year's United are better equipped than any of his previous Champions League hopefuls, adding nous to the flair and ambition that have traditionally characterised United's forays on the Continent.

The Basle manager Christian Gross does not believe United's injury worries will hand him any advantage and, recalling the two teams' last encounter, suggests he has a point. The Swiss lost 3-1 at home last November to a United side that was missing Keane and Rio Ferdinand.

"The fact that Alex Ferguson may play some youngsters won't help us at all," said Gross. "They will all be determined to do well and most of them are internationals anyway so it doesn't make any difference."

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-4-2, probable): Ricardo; G Neville, Ferdinand, O'Shea, P Neville; Beckham, Butt, Fletcher, Richardson; Solskjaer, Forlan.

BASLE: (4-4-2, probable): Zubi; Haas, M Yakin, Zwissig, Atouba; Barberis, Cataluppi, H Yakin, Chipperfield; Rossi, Gimenez.