The ManicaPost
The Premier League title race took another twist on Boxing Day as Liverpool stretched their lead at the top of the table to six points.
Jurgen Klopp’s side beat Newcastle 4-0 at Anfield to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, while Manchester City were beaten at Leicester 2-1. Tottenham took advantage of their slip-up to move up to second.
But as we head towards the new year and the season’s business end, who will come out on top? Here Sportsmail answers the key questions facing each team.
Liverpool
Have they got the staying power to lead from front?
It’s an obvious starting point, but one worth reiterating: This Liverpool squad has so much greater depth than in previous title challenges. The arrivals of Fabinho, Naby Keita, Alisson and Co, as well as the continued development of Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold, have strengthened their hand no end.
That they have maintained their defensive stability despite injuries to both Gomez and Joel Matip speaks volumes about the calming and leadership qualities of both Alisson and Virgil van Dijk, while their firepower going forward has not been blunted in pursuit of greater protection.
In both 2009 and 2014, when Liverpool’s unlikely title bids fell at the final few hurdles, their teams were rough around the edges.
For every Fernando Torres, there was an Albert Riera. Alongside Luis Suarez stood Victor Moses and Simon Mignolet. This Liverpool squad has far fewer pressure points.
But one challenge still remains: how will they cope if Mohamed Salah is struck by serious injury?
How will they cope with pressure of chasing first title since 1990?
For much of the past six months, the talk on Merseyside and beyond has been about whether Liverpool can close the gap on Pep Guardiola’s all-conquering Manchester City.
Heading into 2019, the hunters have become the hunted and being favourites for the title brings a different type of pressure altogether.
It’s one they failed to handle under Brendan Rodgers but could this season be different?
For all the turnover in players since Crystanbul, Liverpool still have a serious lack of top-level winners in their squad.
James Milner has tasted Premier League success at City, while Daniel Sturridge played a supporting role in Chelsea’s 2010-11 triumph and Fabinho won Ligue 1 with Monaco.
But beyond that there are very few players in Klopp’s squad who have (good, or any) experience of a title race on these shores.
Add to that the club’s six-year trophy drought and their manager’s own recent struggles at clutch moments – he has lost his last six finals – and the already intense pressure of chasing the title could prove suffocating.
Has Mauricio Pochettino got the strength in depth to compete?
Yes and no. At the back, Pochettino is blessed with an embarrassment of riches with the likes of Jan Vertonghen, Davinson Sanchez, Toby Alderweireld, Juan Foyth, Kieran Trippier, Ben Davies, Danny Rose, Serge Aurier and young Kyle Walker-Peters all vying for three or four spots.
In midfield and attack, too, they have variety and quality in abundance – as evidenced by Wednesday’s demolition of Bournemouth which saw four different players score.
The furore over their failure to spend in the summer has died down but injuries continue to deplete their squad, with the likes of Victor Wanyama, Mousa Dembele and Erik Lamela all suffering spells on the sidelines this season.
Yet even with everyone fit, Spurs still have one obvious point of fragility: there is little adequate back-up to Harry Kane. Son Heung-min has been superb in recent weeks but he could miss up to five matches while at the Asian Cup next month.
Fernando Llorente and Vincent Janssen, meanwhile, are not going to match the England captain’s goal return. Keep him fit, and Spurs can challenge.
How will stadium issue affect them?
So far, the noise around Spurs’ new stadium is falling on deaf ears among Pochettino’s squad.
No summer spending, no stadium, no problem so far for Tottenham. They are 11 points better off than at this point last season, despite the uncertainty over when they move into the 62 000-seater ground.
In fact, the longer it goes on, the better it may suit Pochettino’s squad. Sure, the state-of-the-art facility will give the club a boost, but they only need to look across north London for evidence that a new ground does not necessarily bring immediate results.
Rose said recently that playing at Wembley no longer feels special, so protracted has Spurs’ stay at the national stadium been. But it’s proven fortress enough in recent weeks.
Manchester City
Why has it gone so badly wrong in the past month?
Three defeats in four matches have seen City drop down to third. Suddenly talk of them cruising to successive titles feels a world away.
It’s difficult to pin their poor run on one factor, rather a few issues have conspired to derail their December. Fernandinho, David Silva and Sergio Aguero have all suffered injuries in recent weeks, while Benjamin Mendy faces another long spell out.
Aguero has not scored in the league since mid-November but it’s at the other end of the pitch where problems lurk. City are without a clean sheet in their last nine matches and it’s at the back where Fernandinho’s absence is being keenly felt.
For all their big spending and bulging squad, City have no obvious back-up to the Brazilian and his injury is causing collateral damage. – Daily Mail.
