The players who have been relied upon all season to get United to the summit of the league will be the ones who will be entrusted the job of keeping themselves there with a victory at the Etihad.
A win for United would all but give them the title for a record 20 times, but Cityknow that a victory for them would push them closer to buying their first league title since the days of Camelot and dragons.
Ferguson does have it on his mind that his side threw away the chance of grabbing the title early when they drew 4-4 with Everton on Sunday.
The Red Devils' manager spoke confidently, though, pointing out that United rarely make life easy for themselves in trophy-winning seasons.
"We don't have any injury problems, that's a good position to be in during this important week," Ferguson told ESPN.
"I suppose when the fixture list came out at the start of the season, everyone pointed to this match. It's been inevitable. The build-up to the game, who's dropped points and who hasn't dropped points, it all comes down to this game.
"It'll be a fantastic atmosphere, I hope it lives up to the billing. We're smarting from throwing that game away last week, but we always make things difficult for ourselves - our supporters are used to the drama.
"You would have to be a confirmed masochist to enjoy it. But we are looking forward to it and the players will be fully prepared for it."