Liverpool continued its imperious recent form last night with an emphatic 5-0 victory at West Ham United, matching the biggest away win of the Premier League season so far. The result puts Arne Slot's side in an enviable position in the title race against Chelsea and Arsenal.

In fact, after yesterday's results, Nottingham Forest is the closest challenger to Liverpool, with the top two boasting a distinctly 1980s feel to it. But Chelsea and Arsenal are considered more likely to go the distance, and will reclaim second and third spots if they can win their respective games in hand on the Midlands side over the next 48 hours.

Until those matches are played, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal have all played the same amount of games, thanks to the earlier postponement of the Merseyside derby. As such, we are briefly looking at the "true" table, and it makes for excellent reading — powered by the brilliance of Mohamed Salah, Slot's side is nine points clear of the Gunners, and 10 ahead of the Blues.

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There's a slight 2019/20 feel to it all, when Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool was 10 points clear at the summit on Christmas Day, with a game in hand on all challengers. But while Slot will hope his side canters to the title in the same manner, there's still a whole lot of football to be played.

In particular, the next five games could be crucial. While Liverpool faces a potentially testing run, Chelsea has a sequence that should be straightforward on paper.

Liverpool

• 5 January: Manchester United (H)

• 14 January: Nottingham Forest (A)

• 18 January: Brentford (A)

• 25 January: Ipswich (H)

• 1 February: Bournemouth (A)

Next up for Liverpool is Manchester United at home. Ruben Amorim's side has been in dire form, but nothing can ever be taken for granted in this fixture. After that, it's second-placed Nottingham Forest, a game which falls straight after cup commitments against Spurs and Accrington Stanley. Infamously, Forest has inflicted the only defeat on Slot to date during his time at Anfield.

After that, there's a trip to Brentford, before some potential relief at home to Ipswich, albeit straight after a midweek Champions League match with Lille. February begins with a tricky-looking away trip to Bournemouth, by which time the Reds would be doing very well to have maintained a double-digits advantage.

Chelsea

• 30 December: Ipswich (A)

• 4 January: Crystal Palace (A)

• 14 January: Bournemouth (H)

• 20 January: Wolves (H)

• 25 January: Man City (A)

If there are any dropped points in that Liverpool run, Chelsea should be well-placed to capitalize. It hosts Ipswich later today, before facing Crystal Palace on January 4.

The next time Chelsea faces top-half opposition will be when it hosts Bournemouth on January 14, which is followed by another home match with Wolves. The run of five admittedly ends with a trip to Man City, although even that is less daunting than it once was.

Meanwhile, distractions are minimal for Chelsea. The Conference League group stage is over, and Enzo Maresca has been fielding a second string team in that competition in any case. The Blues are out of the League Cup. So maximum points will be the target in January, alongside progression in the FA Cup against a Morecambe side rooted to the bottom of League Two.

Arsenal

• 1 January: Brentford (A)

• 4 January : Brighton (A)

• 15 January: Tottenham (H)

• 18 January: Aston Villa (H)

• 25 January: Wolves (A)

Mikel Arteta is facing some fairly tough matches. Next up is Brentford away on New Year's Day, followed by a trip to Brighton just three days later — a tight turnaround in any circumstances, never mind against two of the league's most intense opponents.

After that, there's a massive home North London Derby against Spurs. Ange Postecoglou is under the microscope, but his side is always capable of a result, and would love to dent Arsenal's title ambitions.

After that, Aston Villa will present a similar test. Like Spurs, results have been variable, but there's undeniable quality throughout the team. That's followed by a trip to Wolves.

Meanwhile, like Slot, Arteta is also still juggling the league, FA Cup, League Cup and Champions League. Could a three-horse race be down to two by the start of February?