The Premier League title race is heating up, with the leading contenders gearing up for some crucial fixtures.
Pacesetters Liverpool maintained their four-point lead over Manchester City with a thrilling 4-3 victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +72 | 98 |
| 2 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +67 | 97 |
| 3 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +24 | 72 |
But City will play before their rivals in their next two fixtures, and Alan Shearer believes that factor will give Pep Guardiola's side an advantage.
"If you're given a choice, you'd much rather go out and play first," says the Premier League’s all-time leading goalscorer, who won the title with Blackburn Rovers in 1994/95.
"You'd rather get the points in the bag and say, 'Over to you Liverpool, we've done our job, we're going to now put the pressure on you.' That’s the way I would prefer to do it."
City have been given an extra chance to add the pressure on Liverpool with their fixture at Everton moving from 23 February to Wednesday, 6 February, giving them a match more than the leaders before the end of the month.
Reds challenge
Liverpool have an added challenge on the horizon, with a trip to Old Trafford to come in a month's time.
"It's always a massive game," says Lee Dixon, who was twice a PL title-winner with Arsenal.
"It’s probably bigger than Manchester United v Man City at the moment, the way Liverpool and Man Utd go at each other.
"With the fact that United are resurgent under Ole [Gunnar Solskjaer], I think that could be a big turning point."
Spurs depleted
Third-placed Tottenham Hotspur also remain in the hunt, lying five points behind Man City after their late 2-1 victory at Fulham on Sunday.
Mauricio Pochettino's side are short of attacking options, with Harry Kane and Dele Alli injured.
But Spurs will have Son Heung-min back from Asian Cup duty in time for their next three PL fixtures, which are all at home against Watford, Newcastle United and Leicester City.
They then visit a Burnley side currently lying 16th in the table.
Also in this series
Part 2: Chelsea rivals can raise heat in battle for top four
