If Manchester United can overcome Manchester City in Saturday's lunchtime derby, anything other than a win for Chelsea on their visit to the Emirates Stadium 24 hours later will ensure the trophy is destined for Old Trafford for the first time in four years.

And Gunners boss Arsene Wenger, whose side's best chance of silverware this season dissolved in a stormy League Cup final defeat by their London rivals in February, is determined to lay down a marker for the future as he seeks to prove his young squad have absorbed the lessons from setbacks suffered in this campaign.

"I feel we have shown that we have the quality to be at the top," the Frenchman said. "What we have to show is that we have the mental toughness and determination to be at the top.

"This season we have shown we can beat Man United, we can beat Liverpool, we have drawn at Chelsea and I'm confident we can beat them at home."

Arsenal will not be at full-strength with skipper Thierry Henry out for the rest of the season, Freddie Ljungberg sidelined by hamstring problems and Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky given only a 50-50 chance of making the match.

But Chelsea's resources are also stretched, notably by the loss of centreback Ricardo Carvalho for the rest of the season, although Jose Mourinho will have the option of starting Arjen Robben for the first time in months.

The Dutch winger made his return from a lay-off enforced by knee surgery as a substitute in Tuesday night's Champions League semifinal against Liverpool, although what should have been a satisfying evening turned sour for him when he had a penalty saved in the shoot-out that denied his side a place in the final.

How well Robben and the rest of Mourinho's squad recover from the mental and physical hangover from two hours of drama at Anfield could determine whether Chelsea are able to keep the title alive going into Wednesday night's clash with United at Stamford Bridge.

Their rivals, too, face a test of their resilience in the wake of a morale-sapping 3-0 defeat by AC Milan on Wednesday. But, having worked so hard to get to the position they are in now, it seems scarcely credible that Sir Alex Ferguson's squad will produce two successive performances scarred by the sloppiness that consigned them to defeat in the San Siro.

Ferguson has left his players in no doubt about the kind of response he requires, despite them having scarcely 48 hours to recover following their return from Milan in the early hours of Thursday morning.

"You have to put the disappointment behind you," said the Scot. "That's always been a measure of this club for many years now.

"The players have handled it in the past and I'm sure they'll handle it on Saturday. They know it's a big game and that they can win the title this weekend. That's a big incentive."

United expect to be bolstered by the return of French striker Louis Saha and Rio Ferdinand, and City boss Stuart Pearce is not counting on any help from the fatigue factor.

"I don't buy into that at all," said Pearce, who is obliged to do without his best player, Joey Barton, following his suspension by the club for a training-ground attack on teammate Ousmane Dabo.

"When you are winning matches, fighting on all fronts you don't get tired. Tired' is not a physical thing for me, it's a mental thing, always has been."

At the other end of the table, West Ham can take a massive step towards survival by beating Bolton at home, while keeping their fingers crossed that the likes of Wigan, who are at home to Middlesbrough, and Fulham, who entertain Liverpool, continue to fall.

Five wins out of seven have given Alan Curbishley's men hope but they know they still rely on other teams slipping up.

"People talk about our momentum -- and I'd much rather have the points on the board already -- but we still go into the Bolton match with a chance of getting out of this," Curbishley said.

"When I first took over and we had that terrible run of results, I'd have taken this position with two games remaining."