The Premier League title race is just about hotting up ahead of the final international break of the calendar year with the contenders set to have a testing run of fixtures as they return to action
The Premier League title race is balanced on a knife-edge heading into the international break after a huge weekend at the top of the table.
Early leaders Tottenham have had a week to forget after suffering back-to-back defeats to Chelsea and Wolves and losing James Maddison and Micky van der Ven for the foreseeable due to injuries. Spurs’ late capitulation at Molineux, where they conceded two goals in stoppage-time, has seen them drop to fourth following that unbelievable clash at home to Chelsea where they ended the match with nine men.
The defeats enabled Arsenal to leapfrog their north London rivals after earning a 3-1 win over Burnley on Saturday despite also losing Fabio Vieira to a red card. Liverpool kept up their pursuit with a comfortable 3–0 win over Brentford which sees the Reds head into the break in second, just a point behind Manchester City, who were held to a thrilling 4-4 draw at Chelsea.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher now feels his old club Liverpool could be the biggest contenders to pipping Pep Guardiola’s side to the crown this season. “Why shouldn’t Liverpool go there and believe that they can be in this title race?” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “They are the one team that’s really pushed Manchester City over these last few years.
“It is a new Liverpool team, but they could still be Manchester CIty’s biggest challengers because they’ve got players and a manager who has been there before.”
We could get a better idea of Liverpool’s title credentials sooner rather than later as Jurgen Klopp takes his men to the Etihad in the first game back after the international break – with the Premier League ’s decision to schedule it for a 12:30pm kick-off unsurprisingly causing issue with the Liverpool boss. It marks the start of a crucial spell in the run-up to the festive period with Aston Villa also chasing closely behind.
European champions City also have the added pressure of navigating the Club World Cup, which could give their rivals an advantage to steal a march. Here’s how the schedules of all five of the current pacesetters look as 2023 begins to draw to a close – with all eyes on who could be top at Christmas.
Man City
Nov 25 – Liverpool (H)
Dec 3 – Tottenham (H)
Dec 6 – Aston Villa (A)
Dec 10 – Luton (A)
Dec 16 – Crystal Palace (H)
Dec 27 – Everton (A) (Brentford fixture still TBC due to City’s involvement in Club World Cup)
Liverpool
Nov 25 – Man City (A)
Dec 3 – Fulham (H)
Dec 6 – Sheffield United (A)
Dec 9 – Crystal Palace (A)
Dec 17 – Manchester United (H)
Dec 23 – Arsenal (H)
Arsenal
Nov 25 – Brentford (A)
Dec 2 – Wolves (H)
Dec 5 – Luton (A)
Dec 9 – Aston Villa (A)
Dec 17 – Brighton (H)
Dec 23 – Liverpool (A)
Tottenham
Nov 26 – Aston Villa (H)
Dec 3 – Man City (A)
Dec 7 – West Ham (H)
Dec 10 – Newcastle (H)
Dec 15 – Nottingham Forest (A)
Dec 23 – Everton (H)
Aston Villa
Nov 26 – Tottenham (A)
Dec 3 – Bournemouth (A)
Dec 6 – Man City (H)
Dec 9 – Arsenal (H)
Dec 17 – Brentford (A)
Dec 22 – Sheffield United (H)
