They may no longer be the sworn enemies they once were, but when Arsène Wenger begins to laud Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad to the extent that he did yesterday, maybe it is time for Manchester United’s rivals to worry.

United will move five points clear at the top of the Barclays Premier League if they win their game in hand at home to Fulham this evening, with Wenger, the Arsenal manager, claiming that the English, European and world champions are in a league of their own as they pursue a fifteenth victory in 16 matches in all competitions.

Arsenal went the entire 2003-04 league campaign undefeated and were subsequently labelled “The Invincibles” — and now Wenger has branded United “The Untouchables”, a side who are seemingly as fearless as the group of American law enforcement agents of the same name led by Eliot Ness during the Prohibition era.

In the past, such remarks could have been intended to lull United into a false sense of security, but the Arsenal manager was generous in his praise of a team who have their sights set on an unprecedented ‘quintuple’.

“Manchester United look untouchable because they’re 12 points ahead [of us] and have a game against Fulham they’ll certainly win,” Wenger said.

“Their results are very consistent. They win 1-0 and you think during the game that they may drop a point or maybe more, but they always manage to find somewhere the resources to win the game.”

Roy Hodgson, the Fulham manager, may take exception to Wenger’s suggestion that his team will be brushed aside at Old Trafford, but, with the London club still to win away from home in the league this season, the odds are stacked against them.

United are expected to welcome back Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes, Dimitar Berbatov and Carlos Tévez, none of whom featured in the 4-1 win away to Derby County in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday.

Should Van der Sar keep a fourteenth consecutive league clean sheet and then shut out Blackburn Rovers for 89 minutes at Old Trafford on Saturday, he will break the European record for the longest run without conceding a goal, held by Dany Verlinden, of Club Bruges, who went 1,390 minutes unbeaten over two seasons in 1990. The United goalkeeper has already broken the English and British records.

Ferguson, though, may be more interested in seeing how Wayne Rooney fares against Fulham, with the England forward expected to make an eagerly awaited return to action as a substitute after five weeks out with a hamstring injury.

United, with one eye on the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie away to Inter Milan on Tuesday and the Carling Cup final against Tottenham Hotspur five days later, have been mindful not to risk Rooney, but providing he proves his fitness against Fulham and Blackburn, the forward’s return will come as a timely boost for Ferguson. “The plan is for Wayne to be involved [against Fulham] and he will start on the bench,” the United manager said. “We have handled him in the right way. His performances [in training] have been excellent.”

Hodgson talked yesterday of Ferguson having “founded an empire” at United and it is one that Vidic is determined to maintain. “We have a great group of players and I think we can do big things,” the Serbia defender said.

“But it is not good to think about what you did in the past. You need to think about the future — that is the mentality of the team.”

Fulham have scored only three times in 12 away matches in the league, but Hodgson insists that his players will not be daunted by United’s seemingly impregnable rearguard, even if he accepts that it will take something special to topple the champions. “Miracles don’t always happen, but sometimes they do,” he said.

Manchester United (probable; 4-4-2): E van der Sar — Rafael Da Silva, R Ferdinand, N Vidic, P Evra — C Ronaldo, M Carrick, R Giggs, Park Ji Sung — C Tévez, D Berbatov.

Fulham (possible; 4-4-2): M Schwarzer — J Paintsil, A Hughes, B Hangeland, P Konchesky — S Davies, D Murphy, O Dacourt, Z Gera — R Zamora, A Johnson.

Referee: A Marriner.

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