Five talking points from the first half of the Premier League campaign
Champions Manchester City are ominously poised to strike in the new year despite a dip in form from last season's treble winners, while Arsenal, Aston Villa and Tottenham are also in the mix. But it has been a disastrous start for some of the other pre-season big spenders. Manchester United, Newcastle and Chelsea are mired in mid-table having lost a combined 26 games.
At the bottom, the promoted trio of Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton occupy the bottom three, but Everton's 10-point deduction has put their 70-year stay in the top flight at risk.
Last season marked the end of an era for the Reds as a tired-looking squad sank to fifth just 12 months after coming close to an unprecedented quadruple. There have been some teething problems after a midfield overhaul in the summer and Darwin Nunez's erratic form in front of goal is still to justify the £85 million splashed on the Uruguayan in 2022.
But Liverpool are back to the position they have often found themselves under Jurgen Klopp as City's biggest threat. A demolition of Newcastle on Monday, that should have been more comfortable than a 4-2 scoreline suggests, took Klopp's men three points clear at the top and five ahead of City and Arsenal.
The experienced core of goalkeeper Alisson Becker, captain Virgil van Dijk and top scorer Mohamed Salah have all refound their best form. But Liverpool must cope without Salah for up to a month now as he departs to lead Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Prior to jetting off to win the Club World Cup last month, City had won just one of their previous six league games to give the contenders to their throne hope. However, Pep Guardiola's men enjoyed the best festive season as they added a fifth trophy of 2023 to their haul in Saudi
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