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Seems like the smart money is on Manchester United to lift the Premiere League title. On Wednesday, they coasted to an emphatic 4-0 victory against Sunderland which moved them a point above Arsenal.

The gap could widen further after the Gunners meet the Everton roadblock which Man United struggled to clear, leaving it late to a Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty to scrape by 2-1. The Toffees are 11 points behind Arsenal FC and if they show the same kind of resilience, Ferguson will be gloating that his words about Arsenal dropping points is proven right.

From Man United’s early season gloom of getting only two points from their first three games to the current electrifying form of winning 14 out of 16, the change in fortune is certainly welcome. Their vanquished opponent, Black Cats manager Roy Keane, is one of the believers that United will repeat last season’s success.

He said: “My money is still on United. They are always strong in the second half of the season. They can go on runs of 20 to 30 games. They missed players here and still flexed their muscles.”

Against Sunderland, Alex Ferguson has the luxury of keeping some key players fresh for the impending West Ham match. Ryan Giggs and Anderson stayed home while Carlos Tevez and Patrice Evra remained on the substitutes’ bench. Owen Hargreaves absence was also not missed.

Goals are now the least of Man United’s worries as all their outfield players look capable of scoring from the abundance of chances created in any one match. Cristiano Ronaldo is approaching an inconceivable 20 goals for the season (at the half way mark only) after scoring one against Sunderland with a trademark free kick, while Wayne Rooney grabbed his first goal in 2 months.

Manchester United are sitting pretty on top of the table and they will want to end the year as winter champions by getting full points from their third game in six days. Nevertheless, Ferguson is aware of the threat posed by West Ham at Upton Park and he will be treading carefully and most likely with his strongest team to avoid slipping on a banana skin yet again.

Alan Curbishley is the man giving Ferguson food for thought. Though languishing for the better part of last season in the relegation zone, Curbishley has made it a habit of beating the Red Devils. On his debut with West Ham, he masterminded a 1-0 shock at Upton Park. He then repeated the feat at Old Trafford, and the winner from Carlos Tevez, saved the Hammers from a financially crippling drop at the final day of the season. There are also past “guaranteed to win” matches against West Ham which have gone awry for Alex Ferguson.

Carlos Tevez, despite moving on to greener pastures at Manchester United, will no doubt get a warm welcome from the Upton Park faithful. He has all the makings of a legend at Old Trafford and has struck up a lethal partnership with Wayne Rooney. After being rested against Sunderland, the Argentine will be raring to start against his former team.

The talismanic effect of Tevez on West Ham was best summarized by his former team mate, Matthew Upson.

He said: “He really did single-handedly turn things around last season. Carlos will get a fantastic reception. All our fans respect him for what he did and he will be welcomed back for the rest of his life.”

Louis Saha expects Manchester United’s superior squad to give them an edge as the title challenge heats up. With so many games coming thick and fast over the Christmas period, Saha believes Man United’s strength in depth is the envy of their competitors.

The French striker, who scored twice at Sunderland, said: “The squad we have is amazing. It is strong in every position. We are all aware this is a difficult period. Any team who has not got the right squad will struggle because fitness-wise, it is very hard.”

With Paul Scholes, Gary Neville and Park Ji Sung expected to be back in coming weeks, it is a fearful thought for their competitors who are either struggling with exhaustion, lack of depth and weight of expectations.

Ferguson expects to capitalize further on the African Cup of Nations which will take even more players away from Arsenal and Chelsea squad. In Arsenal’s case, Emmanuel Eboué and Kolo Touré while for Chelsea, Mikel John Obi, Didier Drogba, Michael Essien and Salomon Kalou will be missing in action.

Ferguson said: “Arsenal and Chelsea are losing players and I hope it will stand in our favour. They can buy players to help them through this period. But it’s not easy. January is difficult because if you’re a Champions League club you want someone who can play in that competition.”

Arsene Wenger will be eager to share a bottle of wine with Curbishley if he does the Gunners a favor by tripping up his arch rival. Manchester United will be without goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar again and that is a major concern but if their fluidity and creativity in midfield are undisrupted, and the front line are less wasteful of the chances, it will be a victory to the Red Devils, though I am sure West Ham will make them earn it the hard way.

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