ESPN STAR Sports’ football pundit Steve McMahon believes that the title race will crank up after teams made minor adjustments to their squads during the transfer window
 
Manchester United are level with City at the top of the league table after their 2-0 midweek win over Stoke but they will have a tough time keeping up with their neighbours.
 
The coming month will be crucial for United; starting this Sunday, they will play Chelsea, followed by Liverpool the week after and Tottenham a fortnight later.
 
If United can come away from these fixtures relatively unscathed - by which I mean if they are still in touch at the top of the table in March - they would have done very well and have a genuine shot at the title.
 
But first, they will need to be careful against a misfiring Chelsea this weekend.
 
Coming into this match, I must say that Torres has always played well against Manchester United, the ‘Miss of the Season’ in the reverse fixture notwithstanding. I would love to see him to score, especially seeing that he has been in decent form recently, but I don’t think he is getting help from Andre Villas-Boas.
 
AVB hasn't changed anything at Stamford Bridge despite the mixed results; the formation, the way the Blues play has remained the same. He needs to help Torres out.
 
He can start by having a longer build-up in the attack and throw in a second striker to partner the Spaniard up front for good measure.  I don't see Torres being able to lead the line without much assistance.
 
Either way, I see goals in this match, though both sides are likely to cancel each other out with a draw.
 
League leaders Manchester City have been stuttering of late after going out of the Carling Cup to Liverpool and losing to Everton 1-0, but they should come out comfortable winners against Fulham this weekend.
 
Their poor form may be a sign of pressure finally getting to them, but it’s not unexpected. They have had an excellent run of form this season, but such runs are bound to come to an end sooner or later. And it is apparent they miss Yaya Toure. A lot.
 
The Citizens were unexpectedly quiet in this transfer window, bringing in only David Pizarro on loan from Roma, but I don’t see them needing any more reinforcements. Their squad is the best in the league, and they should be able to see through the end of the season without adding to it.
 
Coming into the weekend’s match against the Cottagers, romantics may be hoping that the underdogs can pull off an upset like they did earlier in the season, I don’t see that happening. Fulham are excellent at home, but their away form has always been very poor.
In contrast, City’s cup conquerors, Liverpool, are on a purple patch recently having won cup matches against the two Manchester sides in recent weeks before claiming a comfortable 3-0 win over Wolves on Tuesday in the Premier League.
 
Credit has to be given to Kenny Dalglish for delivering by giving his players not so much as a prick with a needle but a boot in the bum.
 
All eyes will be on their match against Tottenham on Monday as Suarez is set to make his comeback ban, but should an improving Andy Caroll make way for the Uruguayan?
 
Carroll is finally delivering for Liverpool. He had a good second half against Manchester United in the FA Cup and delivered with a goal against Wolves on Tuesday. I’d like to see him get more time on the pitch for Liverpool and I think he can make an impact this weekend.
 
However, with Dalglish seeming to favour a five-man midfield in recent games, I won’t be surprised if he plays Suarez alone up front.
 
Tottenham, on the other hand, are sure of their men up front and have done well to replace Roman Pavlyuchenko with Louis Saha in the transfer window.
 
I have my doubts on Saha being the right man to lead Tottenham’s line, but it’s still a step up from Pavlyuchenko, who was hardly playing in the first place. Not that it will matter much though, as Spurs have a very good squad already.
 
Their North London rivals Arsenal didn’t make any big signings in this window with 19-year-old Thomas Eisfeld from Dortmund coming in and that is typical of Arsenal’s transfer policy.
 
Fans might have been hoping for the arrival of a defender, given that the Gunners’ backline has received flak all season. One must remember though that their side has been decimated by injuries, and I still believe the squad is good enough to push for fourth place once the injuries start easing up this month.
 
We should see them playing their way back into form with a win over lowly Blackburn this weekend.

Catch Former Liverpool and England International Steve McMahon and his analysis and views on ESPN’s presentation of the Barclays Premier League highlights.