London: Manchester United's players know that sooner rather than later they will need to find their best form to ensure they are still top of the Premier League in May.
The 18-time champions, who host Birmingham on Saturday, have lacked the ruthless edge that helped secure a hat trick of titles before Chelsea triumphed last season.
After drawing 0-0 at Tottenham on Sunday, only goal difference separates United from Manchester City, which has played two more games. The Red Devils have only one game in hand over Arsenal, which is two points adrift in third.
"Of course we want to be playing at our best because we feel it gives us the best chance of winning games," United midfielder Michael Carrick said. "You don't want to struggle through every game and have to rely on individual magic to win. We want to be playing well on a consistent basis. But it does boil down to finishing on top — that is what we are striving for."
United were held to a 1-1 draw by Birmingham last month after conceding a late equalizer from Lee Bowyer.
"We know ourselves when we haven't played great," Carrick said. "But there is a determination within the squad. When you are not playing well it is a case of finding a way to win."
If they don't, City's increasingly potent strike force could guide the team to its first league title since 1968. City, which is at Aston Villa on Saturday, has scored 10 goals in its last three matches in all competitions compared to United's three.
"Every game we win it's a step closer," City winger Adam Johnson said. "I'm sure teams are going to slip up. We've still got to go to Old Trafford and United still have some tough games as well.
"Some of our football is a different class and it all seems to be clicking for us."
City come up against new Aston Villa striker Darren Bent, who will want to prove he is worth the reported 18 million-pound ($29 million) transfer fee that took him from Sunderland to the relegation-threatened club.
Arsenal will be looking to avoid another slip-up against Wigan on Saturday, having been held to a 2-2 draw in the away match last month. A five-point gap has already opened up between Arsenal and champion Chelsea in fourth.
During a recent miserable run, Chelsea striker Didier Drogba said the team missed the experience provided by the players who left after winning the title last season.
"We've had a lot of injured players, and the team has changed from last year," Drogba told Sports Illustrated magazine ahead of Monday's match at Bolton. "We lost five great players in (Michael) Ballack, (Juliano) Belletti, Deco, (Ricardo) Carvalho and Joe Cole and we replaced them with young players like (Jeffrey) Bruma, (Gael) Kakuta, (Josh) McEachran and (Patrick) van Aanholt. They are good players, but they need time to adapt."
If they don't, Tottenham, which goes to Newcastle on Saturday, could rise from fifth back into the Champions League qualification spots. Steven Pienaar could make his debut in midfield after the South African joined from Everton this week.
Liverpool has failed to win in Kenny Dalglish's first three matches in charge, but ahead of Saturday's match at Wolverhampton he has been promised money to spend in the January transfer window.
"This has obviously been a somewhat frustrating period for all of our supporters, so in the short term we just want to see some progress and hopefully under Kenny our fortunes will improve," chairman Tom Werner said.
It was Wolverhampton's win at Anfield last month that pushed relations between then manager Roy Hodgson and Liverpool fans to a new low, just before Hodgson was fired. Wolves are second from bottom in the standings, but Liverpool is just five points better off.
Unlike Hodgson, Avram Grant looks set to remain in charge of bottom-placed West Ham until the end of the season. A statement from the club's board came ahead of Saturday's trip to Everton.
Several clubs have been hit with bad news from their medical teams.
Danny Welbeck, who is on loan at Sunderland from Manchester United, has been ruled out for up to two months following knee surgery. The operation to repair torn knee cartilage leaves manager Steve Bruce with one fit striker — Asamoah Gyan — for Saturday's trip to Blackpool.
Birmingham will be without central defender Scott Dann for the rest of the season after he had hamstring surgery.
Also Saturday, Fulham hosts Stoke. West Bromwich is at Blackburn in Sunday's only match.
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