Champions League preview: Manchester United v Marseille

Manchester United host Marseille in their Champions League second-leg clash on Tuesday boosted by the return of Portugal winger Nani.

United were unable to penetrate the French side’s defences in the first leg of the round-of-16 tie at the Stade Velodrome which ended in a 0-0 stalemate.

Both sides will be going all out this week in search of a quarter-final berth in the prestigious tournament.

Nani has not played since a 3-1 loss to Liverpool early in March after he was crudely cut down in a challenge from Jamie Carragher but returned to training on Monday in a last-gasp attempt to make himself available for the clash at Old Trafford,

Michael Carrick will also take his spot in the team after a calf injury, although Rio Ferdinand, Darren Fletcher, Anderson and Ji-Sung Park are all out for United.

Defender Chris Smalling said the side were well aware of Marseille’s intentions to defend in the first leg, and of the ramifications that will have on his performance in the back four on Tuesday.

“It’s a bit of a dangerous scoreline with the way the away goals rule works. It makes things interesting for the neutrals, but a bit nerve-wracking for the players and the fans,” the former Fulham stopper said.

“You could see that Marseille wanted to keep a clean sheet and they were well set up in that sense. They’re a good side. It was an edgy game over there with neither side wanting to give the other too much encouragement.”

For Marseille, advancing to the quarter-finals in Europe would be an ideal way to recover from the scandals that saw star striker Brandao arrested on suspicion of rape on Tuesday, and Souleymane Diawara in court for being caught speeding without a license.

Brandao is in doubt to be available for the clash as a result, although Diawara should be available to assume his spot in the Marseille defence.