Paris, March 14: The European champions League, hyped to the rafters and increasingly open to any team which can come even within spitting distance of their domestic football league title, may look like the rich man's table. But Wednesday's penultimate round of second-phase group games will provide some evidence to the contrary because, even if UEFA has tried to keep the hoi polloi at arm's length, the competition is still a two-class society. Manchester United, whose assets are now estimated at a mind-boggling billion dollars - and set to rise still further - should reach the last eight if they can see off Fiorentina, who beat them in Italy. At the other end of the scale, Marseille will be playing for battered pride only at Lazio of Italy. The French, European champions in 1993, beat United in the opening group phase in Marseille, but a home defeat by Bordeaux on Saturday left Bernard Casoni's men in the bottom five with just eight wins in 28 matches and only a point clear of a relegation slot. Sir Alex Ferguson's men have no such problems. Sir Alex's biggest dilemma is how to fit Ole Gunnar Solskjaer into a team which already has Dwight Yorke and Andy Cole up front - although David Beckham's predilection for spending time in London with wife `Posh Spice' Victoria Adams might also tax his mind. Beckham has buried the hatchet with Ferguson and insists the only way he will leave is if the club decides to sell him. The United boss dropped Beckham for Premiership clash at Leeds on February 20 after he missed training in the build-up to the game because baby son Brooklyn had flu. That fuelled speculation that Beckham might be bound for Arsenal or move abroad to the likes of AC Milan or city rivals Inter. But Beckham told òf40óThe News of the World: ``I need to let our fans know I intend to stay at Old Trafford. I've never thought about joining another club.'' Fiorentina arrive at Old Trafford with the air of a side which already looks beaten. Now mid-table with just 33 points from 25 games, they are currently out of the running for a UEFA Cup place next season, let alone another slot in the Champions League. Trapattoni, the most successful coach in the history of Italian football, told reporters: ``I told the team this morning that it's impossible to sink any lower than this. But that after every fall, there has to be a rise.'' Trapattoni said he would try to inspire the squad by showing a video of November's 2-0 win over United in Florence. Fiorentina have plenty of attacking option in the shape of Gabriel Batistuta and Predrag Mijatovic, as well as Enrico Chiesa, who should be on the substitutes' bench after six weeks out with injury. They are currently second in Group B, two points behind United and one ahead of Valencia, who travel to tail-enders Bordeaux missing star striker Claudio Lopez, who is suspended. But the Spaniards will not leave anything to chance as they host United in the final match. Group A leaders Barcelona are already in the last eight having won home and away against second-placed Porto. Barca now face German tail-enders Hertha Berlin while Porto will hope to book their passage by beating Sparta Prague of the Czech Republic, currently two points adrift of the Portuguese champions. Porto, who have already won in Prague, are set to recall experienced 'keeper Vitor Baia, the former Barcelona man having missed the previous two Champions League games with knee trouble. Porto coach Fernando Santos can also welcome back skipper and defender Jorge Costa, suspended for last week's home loss to Barcelona, but Brazilian central defender Aloisio is suspended. Hertha Berlin go into the lion's den at the Nou Camp to face a Barcelona side who thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 away at the weekend to keep up their challenge in the Primera Liga. Coach Louis Van Gaal is set to rest several regulars and give an outing to reserves such as French defender Frederic Dehu, Finnish striker Jari Litmanen and Dutch defender Michael Reiziger. Barca have won four matches on the trot, scoring 14 goals against two. Hertha, showing inconsistent form in Germany, will be without six regulars. They include Greek defender Kostas Konstantinidis, who is suspended, and coach Jurgen Rober has also decided to leave out Norwegian skipper Kjetil Rekdal, who is set to quit the club in the coming weeks.
