Arsenal’s nil-all draw against Chelsea at home on Monday ensured Liverpool, who beat Cardiff City 3-1 last weekend, grabbed top spot on the league ladder after 17 games on goal difference.
Both managers are looking for extra strikers in the winter transfer window
Since the opening season of the Premier League in 1992, there has been only one occasion in which the leaders on Christmas day missed out on the top four at the end of the season. The team that defied the odds was Aston Villa, who sat top at Christmas in 1999 before finishing sixth. Nevertheless, the high probability doesn’t mean Liverpool’s Champions League spot for next season is guaranteed, as the competition in this year’s Premier League is unprecedented. Fifth placed Everton is now only two points behind cross-town rivals Liverpool, while the Reds’ following fixtures are daunting with trips to Manchester City and Chelsea in the coming days. From league leaders, Liverpool could easily drop out of the top four it they slip even a little in the new year!
New contract, more goals!
Although Liverpool is far from a guaranteed top four finish, it was still a mesmerizing week for the Reds. Luis Suárez signed a new contract with the club that will keep him at Merseyside until 2018. Putting this into perspective, only half a year ago Suárez was agitating for a move away from Anfield and very few saw this new contract coming. Under his new contract, the Uruguayan has become the highest paid Liverpool player in history at £200,000 a week. But he proved his value week in and week out, as another man-of-the-match performance saw him produce a brace against Cardiff City last weekend. Suárez has scored 10 goals in December, becoming the first EPL player to reach double figures in one calendar month.
Tottenham Hotspur tried to put the team back in the title race in their clash with Southampton. Last week they sacked André Villas-Boas and replaced him with academy technical coordinator Tim Sherwood. The former Spur midfielder led the team to a 3-2 win in his first league match. That result encouraged Chairman Daniel Levy to offer Sherwood more support and an 18-month permanent contract. Without any first-team management experience, or even a UEFA pro licence, Sherwood has landed his first ever job at a top club.
