The London side are two points clear on top of the league table, and they are looking to defeat their closest rivals United at Stamford Bridge to widen the gap.

Before the Premiership encounter, Chelsea will take on Atletico Madrid at Vicente Calderon in the UEFA Champions League, but it seems that Lampard is already concentrating on the weekend.

"I don't think anyone will need to work hard to get up for the United game, we all know it's coming. We'll try and put some space between us and them at the top," said Lampard.

"We're in good form, very good form and that shows in the results - but there's room for improvement. There always is.

"Any moment of slacking either on the training ground or in our preparations and that form will quickly go away. So we will keep trying to improve and, hopefully, can get even better.

"If we can win, then we can open a gap - if we don't there's a danger Manchester United can close it.

"We have the Champions League in between, and then we will really start to think about United. It's an exciting time."