City poised to go top of the table, but for how long?

With just one win on their travels this season in the league so far and having lost eight games it is surely too much to hope for that Wolves will come away with anything at all from their trip to Eastlands today. So Manchester City, will barring some sort of minor miracle be lording it over the rest of the division come five o'clock tonight.

United are in action tomorrow, and providing the current league leaders do not lose, then the Red Devils will back at the top come Sunday night, but this game is oh so important. To state that United have been indifferent on the road this season would be an understatement; in too many games the team has failed to either kill off opponents or else they have failed to dominate.

Ask any honest United fan and they will tell you that the current squad has many problem areas and that is largely why we've seen so many games end in draws. Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick have had very difficult seasons so far. Fletcher was taken off after 62 minutes against Liverpool last weekend - he was lucky not to be substituted at half-time, because his passing was nothing short of awful. If we are to believe the rumours, Carrick fell out with Ferguson earlier on in the season and that led to a lengthy spell in the naughty corner.

Anderson, has in some games shown signs of improvement, but still he's nowhere near the finished article. Gibson is nothing more than a one trick pony, and his party piece rarely comes off, his long-range shooting is wayward and off target too often.

United have missed Valencia on the right and as a result in too many games the attack has been unbalanced; you can also factor in the loss of Park who has been away on international duty, but like Fletcher and Carrick the South Korean is inconsistent when selected.

In a bid to solve United's indifferent form, Ferguson has been tweaking his formation, but the ploy of playing Giggs on the right, as he did recently, was to put it mildly ridiculous. Against Liverpool last weekend, we saw Giggs back where he belongs, wide on the left and the Welshman did not disappoint.

If United are to come away with at least a point at Spurs on Sunday, we will need 100% concentration in all departments, better passing from front to back and we will need balance on the flanks. Expect Berbatov to be left on the bench again. Rooney will start with Giggs on the left and Nani on the right.