Unsurprisingly Manchester are there or thereabouts again come the turn of the year in the Premier League.

Sir Alex Ferguson's men, seeking a record 20th top division crown, haven't had the smoothest of rides in the second half of 2011 but yet they are sitting pretty joint top of the Premier League.

There have certainly been peaks and particularly low troughs so far for the Red Devils and here, Sports Mole dissects their season so far.

August

A Manchester derby was where the champions' season started and what a start it was. A 94th-minute Nani goal at Wembley gave United victory over City in the Community Shield.

Wins against West Brom and a then-timid Tottenham opened the Premier League campaign nicely but no-one expected what came next.

8-2. That was the final score in United's first meeting with arch rivals Arsenal at Old Trafford. A Wayne Rooney hat-trick and two Ashley Young curlers were the highlights of a quite extraordinary Sunday afternoon. Three from three, it was looking ominous.

September

Their form continued domestically in September with a 5-0 hammering of Bolton and a comfortable home win over Chelsea alongside a grinding draw at the notoriously difficult Brittania Stadium.

In Europe United's fortunes were not so good, with two draws in their opening two group games. Ferguson would have been content with a point in Benfica but will feel two precious points were dropped in the six goals shared with Basel at Old Trafford.

October

Aside from one result in October it was a good month for United but that one result was perhaps one of the worst in living memory for the Red Devils.

Roberto Mancini's Manchester City, who had kept pace with United all season in the league, visited Old Trafford with high hopes of noisily upsetting their neighbours and they did just that.

A six-goal second half saw the Blues come away from Old Trafford with a 6-1 triumph and one of the most memorable days in their history.

There were away wins against Norwich and Everton and a draw at Liverpool, coupled with two comfortable victories against Otelul Galatai in the Champions League and Aldershot in the Carling Cup elsewhere in one scary month for United.

November

United began the month with another easy win over Galatai in Europe before going on a goal-a-game streak in the league.

Narrow wins over Swansea and Sunderland and a 1-1 draw with high-flying Newcastle left the champions still trailing City come the final month of the year.

Away from the league they recorded another Champions League draw when Benfica visited, while they were dumped out of the Carling Cup by Championship side Crystal Palace after extra time.

Ferguson was also honoured in the home win over Sunderland for 25 years in charge, with the club renaming one stand the 'Sir Alex Ferguson Stand' in honour of the Scot's achievements.

December

Despite returning to imposing form in the league, December will be remembered for the Champions League exit at the hands of Swiss minnows FC Basel.

United travelled to Switzerland in the knowledge that avoiding defeat would see them scrape through to the knockout stage but they slumped to a 2-1 loss.

They ended the month in strong fashion with back-to-back 5-0 wins over Fulham and Wigan, drawing themselves level with City atop the Premier League.