But there is no doubting that Rafael Benitez's well-drilled side did Manchester United and the rest of the Premiership a large favour with the way they dominated their goalless draw with Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday.

It may be premature to suggest that Chelsea's aura of invincibility -- the product of the seven straight wins with which they have begun the defence of their title -- has been shattered.

It was however dented sufficiently to encourage the chasing pack to believe that all is not yet lost in a title race many had declared done and dusted when Morten Gamst Pedersen scored Blackburn's winner against United at Old Trafford last Saturday.That defeat, which left United 10 points adrift of the champions, and the cacophony of jeers to which Sir Alex Ferguson and his players left the pitch triggered an avalanche of media speculation that the Scot's reign at the club could be entering its final stages.

Several tetchy (even by his own Olympic standards) appearances in front of the media this week have confirmed that Ferguson is indeed feeling the pressure.

But it remains credible to argue that Chelsea's current position at the top of the table is slightly artificial.

Good fortune, notably in the form of last minute winner at Wigan and a controversial red card for Spurs striker Mido, has played a considerable part in the winning run.

Ferguson is also justified in arguing that his side have had a tougher

set of fixtures to navigate in the opening month of the campaign.

Yet it is equally undeniable that United's margin for error has shrunk to the point that anything less than a victory at Fulham on Saturday is likely to provoke another wave of questioning of his leadership.

Ferguson, though, is hardly a stranger to such pressure-cooker situations and Blackburn manager Mark Hughes is not expecting his former boss at United to buckle this time around.

"When you are at Manchester Utd you are there to be shot at and people are firing barbed comments at you and making assumptions when they haven't got full possession of the facts," Hughes said.

"At times it gets to a ridiculous point and I think that's where United are at the moment with regards to the media frenzy surrounding them.

"So I think he's been through it many, many times before and basically it just makes them stronger as a group and certainly Sir Alex just becomes more determined to push words down people's mouths again.

"It's not something they'll worry too much about. I have every confidence that they will turn it around very quickly."

Fulham fans have had to endure one of their worst starts to a Premiership season, one win from seven matches having left Chris Coleman's side hovering perilously on the verge of the relegation zone.

Spurs climbed to fourth on the back of Monday's win but Martin Jol's side face a tougher test of their European pretensions against second-placed Charlton, whose only defeat so far came courtesy of Chelsea's best performance of the season.

Charlton's strong start to the season has been founded on the midfield axis of Danny Murphy and Alexei Smertin, and Murphy will have added incentive to continue his good form against Spurs.

FIXTURES
(1400 GMT unless stated)
Saturday: Blackburn v West Brom, Charlton v Tottenham, Fulham v Man Utd, Portsmouth v Newcastle, Sunderland v West Ham (1615 GMT)
Sunday: Man City v Everton (1015 GMT), Wigan v Bolton (1200 GMT), Arsenal v Birmingham (1230 GMT), Aston Villa v Middlesbrough (1300 GMT), Liverpool v Chelsea (1500 GMT)