Manchester United's Barclays Premier League title hopes have been renewed because of last weekend's results, but they need to refocus and defeat Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford.
United were four points adrift of Chelsea going into last weekend's fixture list, but the win against Manchester City was coupled by Spurs 2-1 win over the league leaders, which allowed Sir Alex Ferguson's men to close the gap to a single point at the top of the standings.
However, the result from the United match also helped Tottenham leapfrog City into fourth place, which would mean they would claim the final UEFA Champions League spot for next season.
Neither team can ill afford a slip up for the rest of the season, so football fans are going to see a very open, end-to-end match on Saturday.
Ferguson and the Spurs manager, Harry Redknapp, will make sure that their players do not rest on their laurels from last weekend's vital victories, and expect the same never say die approach in this match.
Spurs have proved to be a formidable opponent for United, and this will be the 10th time these two clubs faced each other in the last three seasons.
It could have very easily been 11 matches, but United were dumped out the FA Cup by one of their arch rivals, Leeds United, in the third round, so it was the Yorkshire club that faced Tottenham in the next round instead.
In those 10 matches, United have six wins and four draws, which includes the 2008/09 Carling Cup final that was decided on penalties.
United have gotten the upper hand on Tottenham twice this season with a 3-1 victory in Premier League and then a 2-0 win in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup.
Flashback
In the first meeting, United were forced to stage yet another thrilling comeback after conceding a goal in the very first minute.
Jermaine Defoe was quickest to react and scored a wonderfully taken acrobatic goal to send the home fans into a frenzy, but as they have done in the past, United staged another come-from-behind win over Spurs.
Ryan Giggs curled a free-kick into the top left-hand corner of Carlo Cudicini's net to level the score, and Anderson then drilled home his first goal for United to give them a deserved lead going into half-time.
Fourteen minutes after the break, Spurs were given a man advantage when Andre Marriner sent Paul Scholes for two questionable yellow cards in an eight minute span.
However, it was United that played with the renewed vigor and looked like they had the man advantage and finally got their reward when Wayne Rooney ghosted passed two Tottenham defenders and slotted the ball under Cudincini to finish the game off.
In the other meeting this year, it came at Old Trafford in the Carling Cup, which the Spurs manager fielded the majority of his first-team players, while Sir Alex opted to stick with his youth strategy in the competition.
Redknapp's side dominated the possession and chances in the early going, but two beautiful first-half strikes from one of their younger midfielder punished Spurs for not taking any of the clear cut chances.
Darron Gibson, who has been selected for the last three United matches, caught Heurelho Gomes by surprise in the 16th minute when his 25-yard shot crept inside the far post.
Twenty-two minutes later Gibson let fly with another long-range effort, which found the top corner and left the Tottenham goalkeeper with absolutely no chance of saving it.
Despite creating more of the chances, Tottenham failed to get on the score sheet, and United not only advanced onto the next round, but they eventually defended their crown against Aston Villa.
About
Spurs not only did United a favor last week, but they did themselves no harm by beating Chelsea at White Hart Lane, because it enabled them to over take City for the lucrative fourth spot.
Tottenham already have 13 more points this season than they did all of last season with three more games to go, which leaves them with a good chance of playing European football next year.
Like last time they squared off in the league, Spurs were on a good run form so it United know what and who to expect the pressure to come from.
Who
Defoe, a former target for Sir Alex, has been in fine form this season scoring 18 goals in the Premier League - including five in a match against Wigan Athletic.
Redknapp is enjoying the competition for places up front with Defoe, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Eidur Gudjohnsen all competing for two places, which have 31 goals between them.
The Spurs boss had the luxury of letting his captain, Robbie Keane, who was the club's second leading goal scorer at the time, leave on a season-long loan to Celtic.
The center midfield duo of Tom Huddlestone and Luka Modric have been very influential in Tottenham's last two matches and really have dictated the tempo of the match with their well-timed runs and precise passing.
Michael Dawson, who has been deputizing as captain for their club, has led the Spurs back four with ease and authority and is on the verge of earning a place in Fabio Capello's 2010 World Cup squad.
Manchester United needs to remain fully focused if they are nip all three points from this match with Tottenham Hotspur, and with hope, the Barclays Premier League title race will have another twist after this weekend.
Treatment
Out: M. Owen (hamstring), Anderson (knee); Doubtful: O. Hargreaves (knee); Probable: R. Ferdinand (groin), W. Brown (foot), W. Rooney (ankle)
Projected
E. van der Sar; G. Neville, R. Ferdinand, N. Vidic, P. Evra; A. Valencia, M. Carrick, P. Scholes, D. Fletcher, Nani; W. Rooney
Prediction
Manchester United 2, Tottenham Hotspur 1
Schedule
Apr 24 - Tottenham Hotspur - Old Trafford - 07.45 EST - Premier League
May 01 - Sunderland - Stadium of Light - 11.00 EST - Premier League
May 09 - Stoke City - Old Trafford - 11.00 EST- Premier League
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