Man City have two Premier League title advantages at just the right time

Manchester City are five points off leaders Liverpool yet are still the heavy favourites to clasp hands on a fourth consecutive Premier League title.

The Blues have a game in hand, so the gap could be cut to two soon enough which is mincemeat to Pep Guardiola. He has seen his side recover from deficits of eight points to clinch the title before and City are yet to get into their groove this season.

The holders are a game down due to their participation in the Club World Cup, where they completed the elite club silverware set by lifting the trophy in Saudi Arabia. They entered the tournament having won just one of their past six league matches with several key players injured.

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Erling Haaland and Jeremy Doku did not step onto the pitch in Jeddah, but Kevin De Bruyne’s light training session got Blues fans excited. Nerves were jangled in the final when Rodri - perhaps the team’s most important player- was forced off with injury.

Despite feeling like crying after fearing the worst, the pivot said he felt fine post-match and has been available for City’s games since returning home. Upon arriving back in Manchester, the title picture looked a lot rosier despite not playing in the competition.

Aston Villa, Arsenal and Liverpool all dropped points, sometimes taking them off one another. The Blues could have been as many as nine points behind but instead only need to make up around half of that.

The champions have faltering Newcastle, lowly Burnley and shaky Brentford in their next three league fixtures and they could well be top by the time the month is out.

Liverpool are set to lose Egyptian Mohamed Salah for a