United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandaric, a personal friend of Best's, will both arrive at the early evening match after flying back from the funeral in Northern Ireland, where up to half a million people are expected to turn out in honour of the province's greatest ever player.

Having held a sombre one-minute silence before their League Cup win over West Brom in midweek, United hope to cultivate a more celebratory atmosphere at Saturday's game, which will be preceded by a minute's applause.

"It is going to be a great occasion," Ferguson predicted. "The fans are going to applaud and I do not think anyone will have heard applause like it anywhere in the world."

United's last two performances, a convincing win over Charlton last weekend and the midweek stroll against West Brom, have been encouraging for Ferguson.

And the Scot will be hoping to get Saturday's encounter wrapped up equally efficiently to ensure he can spare some of his key performers a full 90 minutes with Wednesday's make-or-break Champions League away match against Benfica at the forefront of his thinking.

Still managerless after being rebuffed by Neil Warnock this week, Pompey will do well to avoid defeat and Mandaric will be painfully aware that whoever eventually takes over is likely to be inheriting a side marooned in the relegation zone.

Liverpool's win over Sunderland in midweek has given the top of the Premiership table a familiar look, with only Chelsea, United and Arsenal now above Rafael Benitez's side, who will be looking for a sixth straight win at home to near neighbours Wigan.

Chelsea however continue to enjoy a significant margin for error in the form of the ten-point gap that cushions them from nearest rivals United, albeit having played a game more.

Middlesbrough are the visitors to Stamford Bridge on Saturday and Steve McClaren's side will be hoping they continue to benefit from Mark Viduka's rejuvenation in the wake of Australia's qualification for the World Cup finals.

The Aussie striker slammed in a spectacular 25-metre shot and then made the winner as Boro overcame Crystal Palace in midweek, intensifying the competition for places at a club that also has former Chelsea striker Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink and Nigerian Aiyegbeni Yakubu to call upon.

"Mark's finish on Wednesday was no surprise to anyone here because he does that kind of thing every day in training," said McClaren's assistant, Steve Round.

"He has always had that hunger and drive but this is undoubtedly a big year for him because he's going to the World Cup.

"You are always striving for competition for places and we have got three strikers at the moment who are providing exactly that kind of competition."

Arsenal face a testing trip to Bolton on Saturday with Arsene Wenger's side anxious to retain their recent momentum in the build-up to their meeting with Chelsea at Highbury on December 17.

Belarus midfielder Alexander Hleb is nearing full fitness again but is unlikely to be thrown into the mix at the Reebok stadium. Youngsters Robin van Persie and Jose Antonio Reyes both found the net in a midweek 3-0 win over Reading, giving Wenger a dilemma over whether to restore Dennis Bergkamp to the starting line-up alongside Thierry Henry.

Everton, seeking to build on Sunday's win over Newcastle, will be without suspended Australian midfielder Tim Cahill for the short trip to Blackburn while the meeting of Newcastle and Aston Villa at St James' Park will be a high-stakes affair for both managers.

Villa's David O'Leary is currently the favourite to be the next Premiership boss to be sacked. Should his side win on Saturday however he could easily be replaced at the head of that particular race by Graeme Souness.

FIXTURES
From the English premier league
Saturday
Liverpool v Wigan Athletic (1245 GMT), Blackburn v Everton, Bolton v Arsenal, Chelsea v Middlesbrough, Newcastle v Aston Villa, Tottenham v Sunderland, West Brom v Fulham, Man Utd v Portsmouth (1715 GMT)

Sunday
Charlton v Manchester City (1600 GMT)