Louis Saha is confident Manchester United's superior squad strength can help the club sweep all before them this season.

While Chelsea's personnel problems are mounting and Arsenal's performances have finally started to fall below the staggering levels with which they started the campaign, United appear to be hitting top form.

Even with Carlos Tevez and Patrice Evra on the bench, Edwin van der Sar and Owen Hargreaves injured and the promising midfielder Anderson left at home altogether, United still swept Sunderland aside at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday.

Saha contributed his first two Premier League goals since September, yet the French forward knows he is almost certain to be back on the bench tomorrow as United look to complete a 100 per cent record in December by beating West Ham at Upton Park.

And with Park Ji-sung making his comeback from major knee surgery and the long-serving duo Gary Neville and Paul Scholes expected back before the end of next month, it is little wonder United, having assumed their place at the top of the table, are odds-on favourites to stay there.

"The squad we have is amazing," said Saha. "It is strong in every position. A few players did not even travel (on Wednesday) and we still have Paul Scholes and Gary Neville to come back. We are all aware this is a difficult period. Any team who has not got the right squad will struggle during that time because fitness-wise, it is very hard. Mentally, you have to be very strong to get through it. That is why the manager has been very clever."

Should United return from the capital with maximum points this weekend, Alex Ferguson and his team can really start dreaming about retaining their crown.

West Ham are notoriously hard opponents for Manchester United to overcome and despite the Londoners' awful campaign last year, they still managed to record the double over the Old Trafford outfit. But the usual abuse for the visitors may be tempered by the presence of Carlos Tevez in United's ranks.

It was Tevez who guaranteed West Ham's Premier League survival last term with his winner at United on the final day and while the South American represents a major threat to Alan Curbishley's men, he is sure to be afforded a rapturous reception from the home fans.

"Every game in the Premier League is difficult but West Ham especially so," said Saha. "It has been very hard for us on a couple of occasions down there."

With Wayne Rooney hitting the goal trail again and Cristiano Ronaldo on 17 for the season, Ferguson does not appear to have many worries about his strikeforce. And the injury-plagued Saha confirmed his confidence is now fully restored after following up a neat first-half strike with a late penalty on Wednesday.

"Scoring gives me confidence," he reflected. "I need that. I need to get back to the basics as a striker and that is scoring goals.

"It was good to start. I had the opportunity to do a few things and now I feel really good."