Just nine days ago, Chelsea had the opportunity to leapfrog Liverpool in the Premier League table with a win over Everton. However, it failed to do it and followed up its goalless draw at Goodison Park with unexpected defeats at home to Fulham and away at Ipswich Town.

Liverpool, needless to say, has capitalized on this fully. The unstoppable Reds first thrashed Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 before staging a comeback to defeat Leicester City 3-1 at Anfield. Liverpool continued their winning streak on Sunday, delivering another stellar performance to secure a 5-0 victory against West Ham United.

Chelsea faltered once more at Portman Road the following evening, which means Arne Slot's team now sits comfortably at the top of the table, a whopping eight points clear of their closest rivals, with a game in hand. Instead, Enzo Maresca's side now finds itself in fourth place, trailing behind third-placed Arsenal and surprise contenders Nottingham Forest.

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No Liverpool supporter — not to mention head coach Slot and his squad — will be claiming the Premier League title is theirs to lose just yet. But Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer seem to have no doubts about it.

Discussing the matter on The Rest is Football podcast, Lineker commented on Liverpool's dominant performance at the London Stadium: "They were very impressive again. They've got a big lead now. Nottingham Forest are second. which is an extraordinary effort. I honestly can't see anyone getting near Liverpool now, can you? They're unstoppable now I think."

Shearer, renowned for securing the title with Blackburn Rovers back in the 1994-95 season in a nail-biting finale despite a 2-1 defeat at Anfield, had his say: "Liverpool have been brilliant, they're so strong in every position. They've got so many options. They're really, really strong and it's hard to look at anyone else but Liverpool. It's theirs to chuck away now."

As Arsenal aims to narrow the Reds' lead to six points with a win over Brentford on New Year's Day, it faces a challenging uphill battle. Even with a victory, Liverpool would still have a game in hand. But Gary Neville, who initially projected that the Reds would end up trailing behind his old team, Manchester United, and out of the top four, believes that presently, only the Gunners stand a chance of catching the frontrunners.

Nevertheless, he remains non-committal and is not ready to echo the convictions of Shearer and Lineker that Liverpool are on course to be crowned champions. In his Monday Night Football predictions, he was still going with the Gunners.

"Liverpool are massive favorites, and they're in great form, but there's still a long way to go," Neville shared on the Sky Sports program. "Arsenal have been through the mill last couple of years, they've gone to the wire, and sometimes when you win your first title, it doesn't happen in the most expected way and things can happen.

"Things are going against Arsenal in this moment in time, and they're hanging in there, but they're the only team that can take it off Liverpool. I'm surprised about Chelsea's defeats in the last couple of games, but I never thought they would win the title this season.

"I think Arsenal have got a resilience to them, they have got a back four that can hold it together and get through games, and I do think they'll attack better in the next part of the season. I think they'll hang in there, and if they can just get close towards the end, it could be that they can hunt Liverpool down. That's what I'm hoping for!"

Liverpool.com says: There can be no doubting that the Reds are in a great position. From here, they should get the job done. Neville's comments are more in hope than expectation, though Arsenal will chase all the way. The Gunners are the team to watch, though Liverpool shouldn't be looking over its shoulder.