Darren Fletcher: 'We cannot afford to lose'

Manchester United midfielder Darren Fletcher has admitted that the club cannot afford to lose their Champions League clash with Basle on Wednesday evening.

United travel to Switzerland on the sixth anniversary of the last time they failed to reach the knockout stage.

Fletcher was on the bench at Benfica when the Red Devils lost 2-1 to finish bottom of the group and now United must avoid defeat against Basle to make the last 16.

"There are a few of us in the squad who experienced the disappointment of that night in Lisbon. Make no mistake, we'll be reiterating our experience to the rest of the lads – even though they're well aware we can't afford to lose this one," said Fletcher.

"The knockout stages of the Champions League is where this club needs to be. The difference is we know exactly how bad it felt the last time it happened."

Boss Sir Alex Ferguson will definitely be without the services of Michael Carrick, Dimitar Berbatov, Javier Hernandez and Brazilian duo Fabio and Rafael for the key encounter.