Premier League title race: In-depth look at the top six and which team is in best shape to win the 2016-17 crown

Manager

All evidence points overwhelmingly in favour of Conte, who has seemingly restored Chelsea to their former glories after a disastrous 2015-16 season that saw Jose Mourinho given the boot. The Italian's switch to a 3-4-3 has been credited with transforming the club and has brought the best out of the likes of Moses - a player whose evolution this campaign would have been hard to predict six months ago. A Serie A title hat-trick with Juventus shows Conte knows what it takes to guide a club to a major trophy.

Injury list

Chelsea are one of only two clubs in the Premier League not to have a single injury currently affecting their first-team squad. Conte has largely had the pleasure of selecting any player he wants, with injuries a rarity so far this season. Kurt Zouma's impending return to full fitness should only help matters further.

Current mood

Prior to the 2-0 loss against Spurs, few teams in Premier League history had ever been in better shape than the current Chelsea team, who had won their previous 13 top-flight games to come within one of Arsenal's record. A single defeat should not do much to derail their momentum.

Distractions

Almost none whatsoever. After failing to qualify for European football last season, Chelsea have been able to concentrate fully on domestic affairs and even managed to lose relatively early in the League Cup to remove that annoyance. An FA Cup quest is the only other thing on Conte's mind.

Experience

A side that has not changed its personnel a vast amount since winning the Premier League title in 2014-15 should not be fazed by challenging for the title - especially when one of their most recent acquisitions N'Golo Kante triumphed with Leicester City last campaign.

Key player

Chelsea's success this season has largely been a team affair with the second most miserly defence in the league, a revitalised Eden Hazard and a regular supply of goals from Diego Costa. But few can argue to have had a bigger impact than Kante, who is fast becoming one of the best defensive midfielders in world football.

Strength in depth

A solid eight out of 10. The likes of Zouma, John Terry and Branislav Ivanovic should be enough to provide defensive cover, while Cesc Fabregas cannot even force his way into the starting XI higher up the pitch. Batshuayi is yet to start a Premier League game up front.

Big-match temperament

Is this the chink in Chelsea armour? It is only a glimmer, but in matches against the top six this season Chelsea have won three and lost three, slipping up against Liverpool, Arsenal and Spurs. That record still puts them second in a "top-six table".

Remaining fixtures

Having already played Tottenham twice this season, Chelsea now only have Arsenal, Liverpool and the two Manchester sides still to face of the traditionally big clubs, with an even split of home and away games among those four fixtures. What could prove crucial is a relatively easy run-in with Middlesbrough, West Brom and Sunderland rounding off the season in May.

So, can they win the title?

Yes - and they should do so. They have the points advantage and the quality to be crowned champions.

BB

2. Liverpool (P20, Pts 44)

Main strengths

Goals - from all manner of different players. Liverpool are the highest scoring side in the top flight, where they average almost 2.5 goals per game. Adam Lallana has been a revelation this season, while Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are at the top of their game.

Main weaknesses

Their lack of a goalkeeper who exudes anything other than calamity. Jurgen Klopp has tried Loris Karius and Simon Mignolet at different times during the season with similar results. They could also do with somehow keeping Daniel Sturridge fit. Good luck with that.

Manager

Unlike the Marmite managers in charge of the two Manchester clubs, Klopp is a man who is liked by the overwhelming majority of football supporters. He is tactically astute, rarely fails to win the respect of his own players and knows what it takes to succeed.

Injury list

Sturridge and James Milner both suffered injuries over the Christmas/New Year period but neither is expected to be out for long - although in Sturridge's case something else will undoubtedly afflict him again soon. Joel Matip and Philippe Coutinho are nearing a return and the only long-term absentee is poor Danny Ings.

Current mood

Very positive. It has been three seasons since Liverpool were even vaguely involved in a title fight, but they look to be the main challengers to Chelsea this campaign and have lost just two league games all season. Victory over Manchester City on New Year's Eve was a huge result.

Distractions

Like Chelsea, Klopp's side are not in Europe this season and have reaped the rewards of focusing solely on domestic matters. A two-legged League Cup semi-final against Southampton should not distract too much from their push for the title.

Experience

Historically it is incredibly high. In more recent times it is extremely poor. Having not won the title since 1989-90, Liverpool looked set to pip Manchester City three years ago before their famous slip-ups against Chelsea and Crystal Palace. While many of their players have never won domestic titles, Klopp lifted the Bundesliga trophy twice with Borussia Dortmund.

Key player

A toss up between two midfielders. Coutinho is the player the club's fans would least like to depart and the Brazilian has been at the top of his game this season. However, despite Coutinho not playing since November, Liverpool are unbeaten in their last six matches and much of that is down to Lallana who is enjoying the season of his life.

Strength in depth

Any team that regularly has Sturridge and Emre Can failing to make the starting XI must have some semblance of depth, although the regular presence of unheralded youngsters alongside them on the Liverpool bench suggests it does not run that deep. The club has not been lucky with injuries though and, without European football to distract them, they should be fine.

Big-match temperament

Go back to that Chelsea match of April 2014 and the omens are not great. However, this season Liverpool have been a totally different prospect and are unbeaten against fellow top six sides, beating Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City along the way.

Remaining fixtures

Of all the potential title challengers, Liverpool appear to have the easiest task purely based on remaining fixtures. Of the teams they still have to play in the top half of the table, Klopp's side host six of them at Anfield with only three away games. The run-in could also barely be kinder, with a trip to Manchester City in mid-March marking the final match Liverpool will face a fellow title rival.

So, can they win the title?

They stand as good a chance as anyone of overtaking Chelsea and triumphing at the end of the season. The fixture list looks kind and European football is not a factor. Can they get over the mental block that has so often held them back?

BB

3. Tottenham (P20, Pts 42)

Main strengths

Some exceptionally good players have been performing somewhere near the peak of their abilities this season and so much has been based on the back five/six. In Hugo Lloris they have one of the finest goalkeepers in the world, Toby Alderweireld has arguably been the best centre-back in the league this season, while Kyle Walker and Danny Rose continue to go from strength to strength, offering a brutal cutting edge going forward. Dele Alli's ability at such a young age is astonishing and Harry Kane has shown no sign of being a flash in the pan.

Main weaknesses

It had been quite some time since Spurs were involved in a title fight when they fell away at the crucial moment last season and eventually finished third. In reality it was nothing less than anyone expected - Spurs will habitually stumble at the final hurdle. Whether they can banish the doubters this season remains to be seen.

Manager

Is there another manager in the Premier League who has been lauded more than Mauricio Pochettino? The Argentine's stock rose rapidly at Southampton and has only continued in the same direction since moving to White Hart Lane in 2014. He has won the affection of the players and his presence has proven a key factor in convincing many of the big names to sign new deals.

Injury list

Erik Lamela aside, Spurs have been blessed with a fit and healthy squad for the majority of the season so far. Alderweireld and Kane have missed periods, but the injury Gods have largely smiled on White Hart Lane.

Current mood

The mood at Tottenham could scarcely be better after ending Chelsea's winning streak with a brilliant 2-0 win. That victory took their own perfect run to five Premier League matches and, ignoring the Champions League debacle, things are looking up for Pochettino's side.

Distractions

Despite being dumped out of the Champions League, Spurs' midweek matches are showing no sign of slowing with a draining Europa League campaign due to start in February. The gruelling nature of that competition is bound to take its toll if they progress to the latter stages.

Experience

Not a lot. Last season was the first time that a fairly young Spurs squad had been involved in a title race and things did not go well - few Tottenham supporters will care to recall their disastrous encounter with Chelsea late on in the season.

Key player

If Lloris decided to up sticks and leave White Hart Lane it would be an enormous loss for the club, but there is no one more important than Kane. Home-grown and a Spurs supporter from a young age, his unifying presence at the club is almost as important as the goals he bangs in with amazing regularity.

Strength in depth

The thinking among many Spurs fans is that, while those players who occupy the bench are fine at filling in briefly when required, the majority are not up to scratch if asked to replace an injured player in the long term. Are Ben Davies, Georges-Kevin N'Koudou, Kevin Wimmer and Moussa Sissoko going to win any team the Premier League title? Probably not. And the less said about Vincent Janssen the better.

Big-match temperament

There was no bigger match last season than the trip to Stamford Bridge at the start of May and the 2-2 draw that followed killed all hopes of winning the title. This year Spurs have not fared too badly against the big sides, taking eight points from six matches including this week's victory over Chelsea.

Remaining fixtures

Pochettino is yet to lose a home London derby, and Arsenal's visit to White Hart Lane at the end of April could prove crucial to the title/top-four race. Manchester United then follow a fortnight later.

So, can they win the title?

The ability is there, but the resounding feeling where Spurs are involved is one of pessimism. If something can possibly go wrong, it will go wrong.

BB

4. Manchester City (P20, Pts 42)

Main strengths

In Sergio Aguero, Kevin De Bruyne and David Silva, City have three of the most potent attackers in the Premier League. They also have a manager in Pep Guardiola who has won the league title in six of his seven seasons in top-flight management. 

Main weaknesses

There appears to be a disconnect between the way Guardiola wants his team to play and their ability to actually carry out his instructions. Defensively in particular City have looked all at sea at times this season, with the 4-2 defeat at Leicester a particularly humiliating experience. Goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has often looked uncertain, and his critics claim he is too lightweight for the Premier League.

City also have a disciplinary problem that needs resolving, with the team receiving more red cards than any team in the Premier League this season and seven in 30 matches in all competitions. 

Manager

Guardiola has been a divisive figure this season, with many commentators seeming to revel in any difficulties the arch-aesthete is finding in the hurly-burly of the Premier League. 

Clearly it is far too early to judge the Spaniard and his considerable pedigree suggests he will eventually get things right at the Etihad. 

Nonetheless he is feeling the pressure at the moment, and his passive-aggressive post-match interview after the draw with Burnley made for excruciating viewing. 

Injury list

Captain Vincent Kompany has had a horror run of injuries and there is concern that he will never be able to play regularly again. Ilkay Gunodgan is out for the season with a knee injury, and Leroy Sane and Fabian Delph are both currently out. 

Fernandinho is also currently banned for four matches after receiving two Premier League red cards this season. 

Current mood

The optimism of the start of the season when City won their first 10 matches has been replaced by a reluctant acceptance that it will take time for the team to fully adapt to Guardiola's methods. That said there is still confidence that City could close the gap on Chelsea and mount a late charge to the title as they did in 2012 and 2014. 

Distractions

City are still in the Champions League and are favourites to beat Monaco over two legs and advance to the quarter-finals.

A less welcome distraction for City in recent weeks has the constant red cards and recriminations around them, while Guardiola has looked pre-occupied by his increasingly adversarial relationship with the British media.

Experience

City have won the title in two of the previous five seasons, but none since 2014. On both occasions they have been champions, City have had to make up a lot of ground and have rattled off wins in the closing stages. Silva, Aguero, Kompany and others remain from both of those triumphs, and will be hoping for a similar sprint finish this time around. 

Key player

Aguero. Guardiola dropped the Argentine for the trip to Barcelona but Aguero remains as lethal as ever and has scored 17 goals in 21 matches this season. 

Strength in depth

Not as great as it has been in previous years. When needing a goal against Liverpool, Guardiola only had Kelechi Iheanacho and Jesus Navas to summon from the bench. Nolito, when fit, provides a reasonable alternative to Aguero, but City are too reliant on their big hitters to provide a spark.

They also look distinctly weaker without Fernandinho in central midfield. 

Big-match temperament

City have won two and lost three against the rest of the big six this season, though in slight mitigation three of those five matches were away from home. The defeats against Chelsea and Tottenham were particularly chastening but the win at Manchester United demonstrated City's fighting qualities. 

Remaining fixtures

Three of the other top six teams have to come to the Etihad, but the crux of City's season will come at the start of April when they face Arsenal and Chelsea away in the space of four days. 

So, can they win the title?

Given the way they have fought back before seven points is not an insurmountable deficit for this team. Next season may be more realistic however. 

CE

5. Arsenal (P20, Pts 41)

Main strengths

On their day Arsenal are still capable of playing spellbinding attacking football, and their 3-0 evisceration of Chelsea in September was arguably the Premier League performance of the season so far. When their more pacy players are available Arsenal retain the ability to produce devastating counter-attacks that have typified all of the best Arsene Wenger teams. 

Main weaknesses

Arsenal still struggle away from home in the biggest matches, and as Everton showed last month are still susceptible to wilting under a physical onslaught. Defensively there are concerns as well, highlighted by a run of 12 matches without a clean sheet between October and December. 

Manager

Same old, same old. Wenger remains as wedded to his principles as he did when he arrived in north London more than 20 years ago, and continues to divide supporters. 

Entering the final year of his contract, there are fewer and fewer fans who would like to see Wenger stay at the club beyond the end of the season.  

Injury list

Typically Arsenal have plenty of injury concerns, with Santi Cazorla's unavailability until March the most damaging blow. When Cazorla has started this season Arsenal's win percentage is 86%, whereas without him it's 46%. 

Francis Coquelin is also out for a month with a hamstring injury and Theo Walcott has missed the last three matches with a calf injury. Hamstring victim Mathieu Debuchy will be out for a couple more weeks. 

On the plus side, Per Mertesacker and Danny Welbeck are back in training after long-term injuries, and Mesut Ozil will soon return from illness. 

Current mood

Pretty dark. There is a sense at the Emirates that lessons of previous seasons have not been learned, and the back-to-back defeats against Everton and Manchester City were worryingly insipid. Alexis Sanchez's rage during the draw at Bournemouth summarised how many fans are feeling right now.  

Distractions

Arsenal resume their Champions League campaign in mid-February with an extremely difficult tie against Bayern Munich. In many of the previous 10 seasons Arsenal's season has fallen apart in February and March when the burden of fighting on three fronts has overwhelmed their fragile squad. If they reach the latter stages of the FA Cup, there's little to suggest they will be able to avoid a similar fate this time. 

The contract situations of Sanchez and Ozil are distractions Wenger could do without, and until the players sign new deals there will continue to be speculation. Both players' current deals expire in the summer of 2018, and Sanchez has been linked with a lucrative move to China.

Experience

Petr Cech, Ozil and Sanchez are among the players in the squad with experience of winning a top-flight title, but the biggest prize any of the team has won at Arsenal is the FA Cup. Largely the experience the squad has with Arsenal is of consistently finishing in the top four but falling short in the title race. 

Key player

Sanchez, who has scored or assisted 30 goals in his last 31 Premier League appearances, and has carried the team single-handedly for much of the season. The team's reliance on the forward is frightening at times. 

Strength in depth

Arsenal certainly have a bigger squad than ever before, but there remains a suspicion that many of the fringe players are not up to the required standard. The likes of Gabriel, Mohamed Elneny and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have not exactly grasped their opportunities with both hands in the last few months. 

Big-match temperament

Pretty woeful. Arsenal have a reasonable record playing the big teams at the Emirates, but away from home they struggle badly against the rest of the top six, winning just two of their last 21 trips to Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Liverpool. This season Arsenal are joint bottom of the top six mini-league of matches against one another.

Remaining fixtures

Given their weakness on the road against title rivals, trips to come to Stamford Bridge, Anfield and White Hart Lane will not fill Arsenal fans with confidence. At least both Manchester clubs have to come to the Emirates. 

So, can they win the title?

It looks doubtful - Arsenal have too much ground to make up, and there's too little recent evidence to suggest they will win the big away matches required of them to be champions. 

CE

6. Manchester United (P20, Pts 39)

Main strengths

One of the stronger defences of the big six teams, and in Zlatan Ibrahimovic arguably the stand-out striker in the Premier League this season. 

Main weaknesses

United have struggled to break down massed defences this season and have thrown away a number of points in home matches they have completely dominated. The transitional nature of the last few years has also left the team looking disjointed at various points, with new signings understandably taking time to settle.  

Manager

After revealing how much he was struggling to settle in Manchester, Jose Mourinho said this week that "I love my group so I'm really happy". He certainly appears to have been finding his feet at United over the last few weeks, with seven straight wins a huge relief after a slow start to the season. 

Injury list

Wayne Rooney and Luke Shaw are currently out but are expected back this weekend, and besides long-term cruciate ligament victim James Wilson, United have a clean bill of health. 

Current mood

Buoyant. A run of seven consecutive victories in all competitions has transformed the mood at Old Trafford and Ibrahimovic illustrated the increasing optimism by claiming on Monday that United could still win the league despite being 10 points off the pace. 

Distractions

United are still in the Europa League which will mean a return to the Thursday-Sunday cycle in February. Mourinho though insists the cup competitions are not a distraction, which is lucky because United are also in the League Cup semi-final and begin their FA Cup campaign on Saturday against Reading. 

Experience

Of the current squad, eight players have Premier League winning experience, and the likes of Paul Pogba and Ibrahimovic have won plenty of titles abroad. Mourinho has also won every English competition as a manager and he will hope to bring that experience to bear with a team that has won just one trophy in the previous three seasons. 

Key player

Ibrahimovic. The striker is United's top scorer this season with 18 goals, 12 more than Pogba and Juan Mata, who have the next most. Michael Carrick also deserves a mention for the way he has transformed the team since starting to play regularly again in November. 

Strength in depth

United have a lot of options, and Mata in particular has been very effective coming on as a substitute. The likes of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Marouane Fellaini are also very useful options to be able to bring in to change a game. 

Big-match temperament

Mourinho has typically excelled in the biggest matches, but this season United are joint bottom of the top six mini-league despite having played three of five matches at home. The humiliating 4-0 defeat at Chelsea will have particularly concerned the manager. 

Remaining fixtures

United play Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham in their final six matches, by which time they could have closed the gap on the teams in front of them and then be left with their destiny, to an extent, in their own hands. 

So, can they win the title?

The recent renaissance has been impressive but 10 points off top spot and five teams above them will prove to be too big a challenge. 

CE