Chelsea v Man Utd Stamford Bridge, 12.30 On TV: Sky Sports 1: Blue ribbons have already been attached to the Premiership trophy and Alex Ferguson was forced to concede yesterday that a Manchester United victory at Stamford Bridge would simply delay the inevitable. Ferguson described Chelsea's record as "phenomenal" but he shook his head when it was suggested to him yesterday that English football could be witnessing the latest phase of all-out domination.

"Next year," he promised, "we'll be there, no question about that."

The problem for Ferguson is that he said exactly the same last year and, indeed, the year before that. Chelsea's coronation, the team having led since August, would mean a third successive season without the title for Ferguson and, in all probability, he may have only one more left to convince the Glazer family he has not forgotten how to win a championship.

Multi-millionaires tend to have limited patience and the Old Trafford hierarchy are alarmed by reports that Chelsea could begin next season with Michael Ballack, Andriy Shevchenko and Ashley Cole in their ranks. Ferguson has a less celebrated list of targets, including the perennial Milan substitute Johann Vogel, but he says he is convinced they will be in a stronger position to take on Chelsea in August.

"This is as good a squad of players as we have ever had," he said. "We've played good football this season. We've got three fantastic strikers in Wayne Rooney, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Louis Saha and, if we get a reasonable bill of health, we must have a massive chance.

"Our form over the last two or three months has told me I can be very positive. In fact, if it wasn't for our injuries at the start of the season I think we would still be in with a shout now. We're getting better all the time, so we should be in a really good position to challenge for the title next season."

Ferguson cited the fact they had made up nine points on Chelsea since March 6th. "We can still get to 88 points this season. Our record is 91 and the total we finish up with this season would probably have been enough to win the league 10 times since the Premiership started. It just shows what fantastic consistency Chelsea have shown."

It is not a statement that will unduly trouble Jose Mourinho but Ferguson also believes United have confirmed themselves as the more entertaining team.

"People would always rather watch us, even going back 40 years," he said, and he does not expect Chelsea to try to disprove his point today. "They will either set out a system to get the point they need to win the title or they will go for broke. I think their priority will be to get a point and win the title against us. I think they'll take a pragmatic view. They will want to get over the finishing line as quickly as possible."

Chelsea are on the verge of retaining the title and John Terry knows that it would be an unanswerable assertion of his club's supremacy.

"The one that really means an awful lot to me," said the captain, "is the Premiership and that means winning it year in and year out. We've gone into cup competitions and lost games but throughout the course of the season we've been by far the best team and I think everybody realises that.

"We haven't had one spell where we've lost two or three games on the bounce. All other sides have had a bad month or two months. We haven't given anybody else the chance to come back and catch us."

The culmination this afternoon is, however, at risk because even the single point that is needed will be hotly disputed by the club Terry supported as a boy, United. The centre half cannot be complacent, considering the involvement of Wayne Rooney.

"He's powerful," said Terry, "he's quick, he's got a great finish, he drops deep, he's got a great touch, he's strong in the tackle, he's got everything. To play against someone like him is a nightmare but it's a nightmare I look forward to because I want to test myself against the best."

Chelsea do come through their challenges. Should the side win today the only Premiership points dropped all season at Stamford Bridge will have been in a draw with Charlton.