Arsene Wenger today raised the pressure on rivals Manchester United by insisting they will drop points before the end of the season.

United are in pole position to retain their Premier League title after opening up a five-point lead over Chelsea and a further point from third-placed Arsenal.

But Wenger is convinced Sir Alex Ferguson's side - who play at Middlesbrough on Sunday - will slip up during the run-in and give hope to the chasing pair.

The Arsenal manager, whose side host Liverpool tomorrow, said: "I do believe United will drop points - they play four times away from home between now and the end of the season.

"It depends on how the games go and how much effort the other teams put in against them but no win is guaranteed in the Premier League. I believe this season has special circumstances. Manchester United are an excellent team but they can still lose points and they have hard games against us and Chelsea to come as well.

"Everything is still possible, of course. But the main thing for us is to win our games and I do believe that we have to win all our games starting with Liverpool. I would love to put some more pressure on Manchester United. I feel it's very important to win our game first and therefore we need to be at our best."

Chelsea manager Avram Grant also hopes his side can land a psychological advantage by playing the day before the leaders. The Blues, who travel to Manchester City tomorrow, could close the gap to two points by the time United kick off. Grant said: "We have come to an important part of the season and only Manchester United are ahead of us.

"This could be a chance to put pressure on them, and it is a chance we must take. We beat Arsenal to get into this position and will do everything we can now."

As the mind games between the three rivals escalated this afternoon, Ferguson used his pre-match briefing to warn Chelsea and Arsenal they cannot afford to drop any points this weekend or they will be out of the title race.

The Manchester United boss said: "The most important thing now is that we do our own job because we have come to the stage of the season where every game is as good as a League decider.

"Nerves are going to play a part and there will be shocks, but we just have stay consistent because the team that is most consistent will win the League."

Meanwhile, Barcelona playmaker Ronaldinho will be sidelined for six weeks with a thigh injury, ruling him out of a possible Champions League semi-final against United.