Liverpool will occupy that coveted Christmas No.1 spot in the Premier League after recording a 6-3 win over Tottenham on Sunday.
Arne Slot has seen his side lose just once in 16 Premier League outings so far this season, with Liverpool accumulating 39 points from a possible 48 to sit top of the tree on Christmas Day.
Typically, the widespread belief is that whoever tops the Premier League at Christmas will go on to secure the title, but just how true is that? Let’s take a look.
Only 50% of sides topping the Premier League on Christmas Day have won the title
Surprisingly – across the 32 Premier League campaigns to date – only half of those to sit top of the pile at Christmas have actually managed to finish the job.
Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Newcastle United, Norwich City, Aston Villa and Leeds United are the only sides guilty of failing to win the Premier League title despite topping the tree at Christmas.
Contrastingly, Chelsea – who deserved a penalty against Everton on Sunday – Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers and Leicester City are the only sides to have never squandered this advantageous position.
Club Amount Of Times Top At Christmas Amount of Times Premier League Title Was Won
Manchester United 7 5
Liverpool 6 1
Chelsea 5 5
Arsenal 4 0
Manchester City 3 3
Newcastle United 2 0
Blackburn Rovers 1 1
Leicester City 1 1
Norwich City 1 0
Aston Villa 1 0
Leeds United 1 0
As you can see, Liverpool, who Heung-min Son admires, are notorious for messing things up from this position.
On five occasions have the Reds bottled it – if you will – only winning the Premier League title once having sat top at Christmas, which came in the 2019/20 campaign.
The dark horses Liverpool must look out for
On some rare occasions, a team outside of the top four at Christmas have actually gone on to win the Premier League that term.
A ball juggler dressed as Father Christmas displays his skills at half time during the Barclays Premier League match between West Ham United and Ch...
Photo by Phil Cole/Getty Images
This happened last season when Manchester City were fifth on Christmas Day – six points behind Arsenal with a game in hand – but still managed to secure a fourth consecutive Premier League title, something no other side has ever achieved.
The other three teams to win the title despite being outside of the UEFA Champions League positions on Christmas Day were Manchester United, who sat fifth in the 1996/97 campaign, Arsenal, sixth in 1997/98 and Manchester City again, who were actually eighth under Pep Guardiola in the 2020/21 season.
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