Home sweet home

Home is where the heart is, they say. This season, it's also housed the points to keep United's Barclays Premier League title bid alive.

After successive defeats at Chelsea and Liverpool, Saturday's dramatic win over Bolton marked a welcome return to winning ways in the league, and extended the Reds' almost unblemished record at Old Trafford this season. With every other challenger displaying degrees of inconsistency at home, United's form in M16 can make the difference come late May.

Arsenal have lost to West Brom, Newcastle and Tottenham at the Emirates; Manchester City have dropped points at Eastlands six times; and both Sunderland and Liverpool have won at Stamford Bridge – although it was Chelsea’s midwinter of discontent, when they won just twice in 11 league games, that has proven most damaging for Carlo Ancelotti's reigning champions.

In contrast, while United’s away-day travails have been much hyped this term, in the midst of the unpredictable tumult of the 2010/11 season, Old Trafford has been an oasis of calm consistency, where Sir Alex Ferguson’s side have racked up