After Crawley Town gave Manchester United the fright of their lives in the FA Cup on Saturday, what are the chances of Olympique Marseille going one better and knocking Sir Alex Ferguson's side out of the Champions League? Nearly all the bookmakers favour United over their French counterparts but Marseille may prove to be a better side than many might expect. They currently lie third in the French first division, three points behind surprise leaders Lille, but are still playing catch-up following an indifferent start to the season, drawing two and losing two of their first six league games. Having recovered from their poor start, Marseille remain arguably France's biggest and best supported club but they spent almost two decades in the doldrums before winning their first Ligue 1 title since 1992 last season. The return of Didier Deschamps, in the summer of 2009, has become the catalyst for the transformation of Lyon who reached the Champions League semi-finals last year. Looking ahead to the game on Wednesday, Deschamps will have been relieved that his impressive attacking midfielder Mathieu Valbuena, one of heroes of their success story last season, resumed full training on Monday after sustaining a knee injury a month ago and is expected to be back against United. However, problems persist up front. Andre-Pierre Gignac is expected to miss the clash with Manchester United because of a hamstring strain suffered in their 2-1 win over St Etienne on Saturday, while striker partner Remy is doubtful after suffering a bad knock after scoring his side's second goal at the weekend. That means Ghanaian brothers Andre and Jordan Ayew, sons of former Marseille player Abedi Pele, could feature, possibly alongside each other. Along with Deschamps, the siblings also provide a link between the current side and the team that achieved so much in the early 1990s, although that period in Marseille's history is tarnished by the conviction of then club president Bernard Tapie for match-fixing. Whatever happens on Wednesday, fans can be assured of a fascinating game from two sides who on a good night can be as exciting as the best anywhere. Source: BBC