Manchester United have the chance to stretch their lead at the top of the table when they take on Stoke City.
If winning when not playing well really is the hallmark of champions, then little wonder Manchester United are the bookies' favourites to win a record 19th league title this season.
Conventional wisdom holds that Sir Alex Ferguson's side have struggled to rise above the ordinary this season, and yet they go into this match having led the table since November following an unbeaten start than now stands at 19 matches.
Another workmanlike display at West Brom on Saturday resulted in another three points, and United now welcome a Stoke side who have lost all five of their Premier League head-to-heads.
The Potters' last two visits to Old Trafford ended 5-0 and 4-0, but they showed much greater resilience in this season's reverse fixture when United needed an 86th minute winner from Javier Hernandez to deny Stoke a first-ever Premier League point against them.
City kicked off 2011 with an uplifting 2-0 victory over Everton that pushed them up to eighth in the table, and a surprise victory at Old Trafford would see the Potters climb above Bolton and Sunderland into the dizzying heights of sixth.
Head-to-head
• The Potters' last league win over United came on Boxing Day 1984 at the old Victoria Ground. It is over 34 years since they last tasted victory at Old Trafford, a 1-0 win in April 1976.
• Man Utd have won 10 of the last 13 league meetings with Stoke without the Potters scoring.
• Stoke's last visit to Old Trafford ended in a 4-0 defeat on the final day of last season. The Red Devils also won this season's reverse fixture 2-1.
Man Utd
• Sir Alex Ferguson's men have won 11 of their last 12 league fixtures at Old Trafford.
• They are unbeaten in 19 Premier League outings this season, and have lost just one of their 28 games in all competitions.
• Dimitar Berbatov has scored eight goals in his last four Premier League matches.
• Michael Carrick is hoping to make his 300th Premier League appearance.
Stoke City
• Stoke are unbeaten when scoring first this season - winning six times and drawing once.
• They are looking to win back-to-back Premier League away matches for the first time.
• Jonathan Walters is poised for his 250th club career start.
LEADING GOALSCORERS
Man Utd
Berbatov 15 goals (14 league); Hernandez 8 goals (5 league)
Stoke City
Jones: 7 goals (5 league); Huth: 4 goals (4 league)
Man Utd team news
Sir Alex Ferguson will need to check on the fitness of Wayne Rooney, Patrice Evra and Darron Gibson before finalising his Manchester United line-up to face Stoke on Tuesday night.
Rooney is the most obvious worry after getting a nasty kick on his ankle by Chris Brunt at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday but Evra and Gibson also finished the match moving at less than full tilt and Ferguson will need to be reassured about their fitness before picking any of them.
Nani (hip) might be available, while skipper Nemanja Vidic escaped suspension for his fifth booking of the season, which came one day after the 31st December cut-off point.
Stoke team news
Stoke defender Robert Huth is available again after suspension. Huth was forced to sit out the victory over Everton at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday.
Ricardo Fuller is looking to retain his place up front alongside Kenwyne Jones ahead of Jon Walters.
Squads
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Kuszczak, Rafael, Brown, Neville, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Vidic, Smalling, Evans, Evra, Fabio, Nani, Obertan, Carrick, Fletcher, Gibson, Anderson, Giggs, Bebe, Rooney, Berbatov, Macheda, Hernandez, Owen.
Stoke: Begovic, Faye, Shawcross, Huth, Collins, Wilson, Etherington, Pennant, Whelan, Whitehead, Walters, Fuller, Jones, Gudjohnsen, Wilkinson, Higginbotham, Tuncay, Delap, Diao, Sorensen.
Whats the score going to be?
I think Manchester United 2-0 Stoke Berbatov and Hernandez