Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is adamant his side can claw back Chelsea's five-point advantage. The one thing in Ferguson's favour is this week's matches represent the end of the international season apart from one midweek match at the beginning of March.
According to Ferguson, that continuity in the Barclays Premier League will benefit the Old Trafford outfit.
"Probably the league will start now," he said.
"You will get some sort of consistency and we won't be worrying about which players are coming back from international duty, where they have been and arranging flights for them to come back in time.
"We have got them now right through until March. We are delighted with that."
As usual, Ferguson has injury problems picked up during international fixtures to contend with.
"Five points is not insurmountable, that has been shown time and time again in the Premier League," said Ferguson.
"You can come from behind and you can be in front and lose it, as we did in 1997.
"It is a challenge. But I always think if you get to New Year's Day a point in front or behind, with our experience in big game situations over the run-in, we have a great chance."
