Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson expects a big December.

After victory at Reading, United will host the derby against Manchester City on Sunday.

"It's generally a good month for us," Sir Alex says in the new issue of Inside United, out 5 December. "We usually get ourselves to the New Year in a challenging position, and that's where you want to be. When you have the second half of the season in front of you, you know full well that pressure can affect everyone, there's no question about that. We tend to do not too badly.

"The start of the month, with City away, is a hard one, but then we've got Sunderland, Reading, Swansea, West Brom - we've got a reasonable programme, so we should be expected to gather some points there."