Marseille don’t fear Manchester United & we can knock them out of the Champions League – Steve Mandanda

Champions League : Steve Mandanda (Marseille)

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Marseille goalkeeper Steve Mandanda is confident the club can conjure up an upset against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening and progress to the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

The reigning French champions played out a goalless draw with the English giants in the first leg at home and a score draw in England will see them through to the last eight of the competition.

Marseille defeated Rennes 2-0 in Ligue 1 on Friday evening to revive their title hopes and while Mandanda admits the French club respect Manchester United, he is adamant they don’t fear Sir Alex Ferguson’s side.

“To tell you the truth, we’re not feeling under any extra pressure ahead of this game, even though it’s a situation we’ve not been in before,” said Mandanda, according to Uefa.com.

“However, we might feel different tomorrow. We’re ready, we’re prepared and there’s a very good atmosphere in the squad after a great win at Rennes. We’re not too tense, we’re nice and relaxed.

“We’re very motivated, very focused and the lads are up for it. We know we’re playing against a great side but we also know we’ve everything left to play for.

 “Do we respect United? When you see what this club has achieved, it’s inspirational and fills you with respect – respect but certainly not fear.

“We really believe we can knock out United and we’ve got the desire to do it, but we’ll have to believe in ourselves to achieve it.”

When asked whether he is undergoing any special preparation to face the likes of Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov, the goalkeeper said: “I don’t know how busy I’ll be, we’ll have to wait and see, but I’m preparing the same way I normally do and trying to do so in a calm fashion.

“What I do know, though, is that United are one of the best teams in Europe, and they have players up front capable of turning any game.”