Liverpool's lead at the top of the Premier League has been drastically reduced to two points. As the Reds face Tottenham on Sunday, a win looks necessary to maintain their position.
Hot on their heels is Chelsea who, despite not being viewed as pre-season title contenders, has managed to reduce the deficit with wins against Spurs and Brentford while the Reds have managed to pick up just two points against Newcastle and Fulham.
Arne Slot's side does have a game in hand after the Merseyside Derby was postponed due to Storm Darragh, but there’s no doubt they’ll be glancing over their shoulders a bit more over the next few games.
Chelsea's next 12 fixtures on paper should be relatively straightforward for Enzo Maresca's side. Their festive fixtures start with a trip to Everton before taking on in-form Fulham and ending the year away to Ipswich.
While they face current title holders Manchester City in January, there's also games with Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Wolves. February and March see Chelsea take on West Ham, Brighton, Aston Villa, Southampton and Leicester.
Realistically, Chelsea should be picking up maximum points in most of those fixtures which will undoubtedly put pressure on Liverpool to keep their lead over Maresca's side.
Liverpool players celebrate scoring against Southampton
Liverpool currently sit two points ahead of Chelsea
To compare, Liverpool's next 12 fixtures include clashes with Spurs, Manchester United, City and Nottingham Forest, which is the only team to beat the Reds so far this season.
Slot's side will have to be pretty much perfect to retain their place at the top of the table and to keep threats from the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and City at bay if they want to be ones to lift the trophy in May.
Liverpool.com says: While Liverpool will be taking it game by game and focusing on their own fixtures, of course one eye will be on what's happening to teams around them. As everyone knows the Premier League is unpredictable so anything can happen between now and the end of the season.