Liverpool lead but Man City sniff chance as Arsenal drop ball in title race

Liverpool have exceeded expectations by topping the Premier League table at the halfway mark of the season but Manchester City will be optimistic of getting back into the title fight after Arsenal slipped up this month.

Despite seeing their midfield gutted in the close season, Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have turned things around with a quick rebuild and lost only one game this season - a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur marred by a VAR controversy.

Liverpool have also managed to survive an injury crisis to top the league with the best defensive record but Klopp is not resting on his laurels yet, especially with top scorer Mohamed Salah off to the Africa Cup of Nations next month.

"We had a lot of injuries, some players not involved once who are key players for us. Both left backs aren't in, which is really not good," Klopp said.

"But we found a way to the next game and found a way to compete. It all starts with defending - we don't concede all the time so we don't get desperate.

"So far it's ok. Better to be first than sixth."

Klopp's side host a struggling, ninth-placed Newcastle United who have won just one of their last seven games in all competitions, with Eddie Howe's team also contending with several injuries.

Newcastle have not beaten Liverpool since 2015 and have lost the last five encounters.

"We've had a couple of painful games against Liverpool but the positives from both of those games is that we've performed really well and we were competitive. We need to be near perfect in this game," Howe said.

Arsenal were top at Christmas for a second straight season but lost the opportunity to leapfrog leaders Liverpool when they fell at home to West Ham United on Thursday (Dec 28), five days after a draw at Anfield.

Mikel Arteta's side