Having seemingly swept all before them this season, City were pegged back at the top of the table on Boxing Day, with the red half of the city pulling level on points courtesy of a 5-0 win over Wigan. That came as City were drawing 0-0 at West Brom, with now only a superior goal difference keeping them on top of the pile.
And England stopper Hart has acknowledged the heat being generated by United, but insists he and his team-mates are up for the fight. He said: "Of course we feel the pressure. You have to earn the title and it's hard work. We're the team to beat and we're enjoying that but it's not always going to be as easy as we've sometimes made it look in the past."
Hart added: "Of course it's disappointing not to have won again but West Brom set out for a point and they got it. We need to be winning these games but we haven't and we move on."
By the time City take on Sunderland this weekend, they could have been relegated to second spot by a United win over Blackburn on Saturday.
Hart, though, accepts that such challenges are part and parcel of the title race.
He said: "The league is not set up for us to win it.
"Everyone has their own private little things that they're trying to do - if they're not challenging for the title, they're challenging for Europe, if they're not challenging for Europe they want to stay above the relegation zone.
"Everyone has got their own agendas. There is all sorts of pressure and we're feeling it."
Source: PA
Source: PA