United's response to being walloped by Manchester City has been impressive and, once again, everybody who wrote them off has been left with egg on their face.
Ferguson celebrates his 70th birthday on Saturday and, with City not playing again until Sunday, United only need a point to be top of the league at the start of 2012. I'm backing them to get all three.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview Arsenal v QPR
QPR got a decent draw at Swansea on Tuesday and they posed a threat in that game too, which they have not always done of late.
Arsenal slipped up in their last home game against Wolves, whose goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey had a stormer, but I just cannot see Rangers managing a repeat of that.
Defensively, QPR look vulnerable. They have let a lot of goals in this season and, with the way Arsenal attack teams, it is almost impossible that Rangers will hold out.
Prediction: 3-0
Match preview Bolton v Wolves
Bolton have lost eight out of nine league games at the Reebok Stadium this season so a home game is probably the last thing Owen Coyle wants at the moment.
Wanderers problems are pretty well known by now - they cannot score, and they are poor defensively. They concede on average more than two goals a game.
But I am still not wholly convinced by Wolves either - they have not made the progress I expected this season.
I am pretty sure their manager Mick McCarthy expected them to have moved on too, with the additions he has made, but it hasn't quite happened.
I think they will stay up, but they are a side that you worry about, and with what McCarthy has got in his squad, they should be doing better than they are.
Prediction: 1-1
Match preview Chelsea v Aston Villa
Chelsea were poor in the first half against Fulham on Boxing Day, and the Cottagers were pretty comfortable for their point in a game I expected the Blues to win.
It will be interesting to see whether Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas starts with Fernando Torres again because, against Fulham, Torres looked completely out of sorts. Like I said on Match of the Day, the way he is playing suggests to me that he doesn't believe his manager believes in him.
But Villa still don't know when Darren Bent will be fit again and, with Emile Heskey also picking up an injury against Stoke on Boxing Day, they are short of options up front.
Bent needs to kick on when he does return if he wants to be in the England squad for the finals of Euro 2012 and that should be a huge incentive for him.
In the meantime, I just cannot see where Villa are going to get their goals from and, at Stamford Bridge, I'd expect Chelsea to roll them over comfortably enough.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview Norwich v Fulham
Norwich stuck at it against Tottenham on Tuesday despite being outplayed at Carrow Road. I was impressed by Canaries manager Paul Lambert afterwards too - he didn't want to talk about how good Spurs were, instead he spoke about how his side coped with them and were competitive.
Lambert was trying to keep his own players upbeat, rather than coming out and saying 'crikey, how good were Tottenham?', and I think they will keep ticking over and continue to pick up points.
Fulham don't strike me as happy camp. As good as their last result at Chelsea was, there is obviously something not right there, and it will be interesting to see how the situation with Bobby Zamora and Andy Johnson develops in the next few weeks.
Prediction: 1-1
Match preview Stoke v Wigan
Conor Sammon should never have been sent off in Wigan's defeat by Manchester United on Boxing Day but they were already a goal down at the time and I'm not sure it made too much difference to the outcome.
And after two decent draws against Chelsea and Liverpool, having five smashed past them at Old Trafford means the Latics are back to square one.
I just get the impression that, because they were in this predicament last season and got out of it, Wigan think they have got the experience and nous to survive again this time - and that is an awfully big chance to take.
Wigan went to the Britannia Stadium on the last day of last season and won to stay up, but I cannot see the same result happening this time.
Stoke have won four and drawn one of their last six games and, with or without Peter Crouch, their good run should continue here.
Prediction: 2-0
Match preview Swansea v Tottenham
This will be an interesting battle in the middle of the park because I believe the strongest part of Swansea's team is the midfield, especially with the way their right-back and left-back come out of defence and join in. The Swans are usually more than happy to keep the ball but I just think they might spend more time chasing Spurs here.
Yes, Brendan Rodgers's side have only lost against Manchester United at the Liberty Stadium since being promoted but the way Tottenham are playing they will cause any team problems and they are in the mindset where they think they can beat anyone.
Gareth Bale is flying. Whether on the right, left or through the middle, the way the Spurs side is set up means he has a licence to roam and, once he runs at you, he is unstoppable.
Rafael Van der Vaart is fit, Emmanuel Adebayor and Luka Modric are still on form and you can see the depth in their squad from the way Sandro has come into the team in recent weeks and looked a very good player.
So, as good as Swansea have been at home this season, I have to back Tottenham to take the three points.
Prediction: 0-2
Match preview
SUNDAY West Brom v Everton (1230 GMT)
West Brom are going well. They were good value for their draw against Manchester City on Boxing Day and gave them a really good game.
Everton, by their own admission, didn't deserve a penalty against Sunderland in their last game but thought they deserved a point and they were probably right on both counts.
On form alone, I would have to go for the Baggies but I am wondering whether Everton might be able to spring a bit of a surprise.
Toffees boss David Moyes says he is searching for a striker to sign in January but I'm not sure he will have the money to get one.
Having Landon Donovan back on loan is a boost for them, and he will make a difference, but the reality is they have little or no money to spend.
Their fans want to know where all the money has gone but no-one has taken it - it has been spent on wages to keep players there and to keep the club in the Premier League.
It is all very well the supporters saying they want a rich owner to come in but Everton need a new ground and they need a multi-multibillionaire to fund that too.
So I don't really understand the fans marching before games calling for chairman Bill Kenwright to go, because that won't change the club's situation.
Those sort of protests are fine in my book, however, because unlike what is going on at Blackburn, once the game starts the Everton fans are 100% behind the team.
Prediction: 1-2
Match preview Sunderland v Man City
Sunderland have been good since Martin O'Neill took charge, as we knew they would be. He has got improvements out of players and they will definitely give Manchester City a good game.
But I just feel you can still score against Sunderland - they are vulnerable at the back - and you can't see City not scoring here, especially after they drew their first blank of the season against West Brom.
I expected City to beat West Brom but I knew it would be tight and I wasn't surprised that they dropped points there, because they were never going to go through the whole season scoring goals at will.
They still had the opportunities at The Hawthorns, just not the number they usually create, and I expect them to get a couple here.
Prediction: 1-2
Match preview
Mark Lawrenson was talking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan. |