Source: Daily_Mail
Top four's drop in quality leaves the Premier League wide open
The fixture gods have certainly favoured Chelsea when it comes to January, the month when their challenge in this most intriguing of title races might just go off the rails.In a period when Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Mikel Obi and Salomon Kalou will be representing their countries at the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, Carlo Ancelotti's side could suffer in their absence.But, before Manchester United identify that period as a time to put in a bit of a surge, they might want to look at the opposition Chelsea will face. Hull and Burnley away, Sunderland and Birmingham at home.They are not exactly the kind of fixtures that should trouble a squad of Chelsea's considerable quality and nothing like as daunting as the match United will contest at the end of January - what promises to be a difficult trip to Arsenal. Captain's rage: Terry shows his disgust at conceding a set-piece goal at VillaSir Alex Ferguson, you sense, is already preparing to explode when Chelsea succeed in manipulating a situation that will allow them to spend big in January despite their FIFA transfer ban.But wait until he realises just how kind the fixture list has been to his United team's main rivals. Wait until he realises that any players Chelsea do bring in during the window will not be recruited with a quick fix in mind. When it comes to January, Chelsea should expect to take 12 points whether Drogba is leading the attack or not.It makes the title race all the more difficult to predict, because no team appear capable of breaking away from the pack.John Terry was making an important point when he highlighted the fact that, of the teams we have long considered the top four, only Chelsea went into this season having not lost a key player.It does give them an advantage over their rivals. It does put their noses just ahead when United have been significantly weakened by the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, Liverpool lack their usual drive from midfield without Xabi Alonso and Arsenal, for all their attacking flair, look slightly impotent now that Emmanuel Adebayor is at Manchester City.It is not, however, a situation Chelsea have so far used to their advantage. They are top, and of all the teams contesting this season's title they are probably the strongest. But, as we witnessed at Wigan and Aston Villa, they are not quite the force they were under Jose Mourinho.Perhaps it is because, while they have not lost their top players, beyond the signing of Yuri Zhirkov, they have not added a great deal to their squad either. A new manager might have arrived but the team have pretty much stood still, which can be dangerous if it enables other teams in the Barclays Premier League to get the measure of them.At Stamford Bridge Chelsea remain formidable. They have won all five of their games, scoring 15 goals and conceding just one, which are remarkable statistics and proof of their ability. But they have not been the same team on the road, conceding seven goals to the nine they have scored and losing those two matches while winning three.The Premier League has never been more difficult to win. Mark Hughes said as much at Wigan this month, and the emergence of sides like his own Manchester City, Aston Villa and Tottenham will certainly make it tougher than ever to secure a Champions League spot.But it is the slight drop in standards that will really make things interesting this season. It is the fact that the gulf between the best and the rest has suddenly closed a little, and weekend after weekend the competition is throwing up the most unexpected results. Ordinary stuff: Sunday's clash between Liverpool and Manchester United will have given their rivals confidenceSunday's game between Liverpool and United was hugely entertaining but, beyond the brilliance of that Fernando Torres goal, it was fairly ordinary stuff. It was a meeting between two teams inferior to those who collided so spectacularly last season and would have actually offered their rivals encouragement.It might yet mean that the English clubs do not progress as far as they have done in more recent seasons in the Champions League. It might mean that the English do not occupy three of the four semi-final places.But that is unlikely to matter as much to the leading clubs this season when Ferguson wants United to become the first club to win four consecutive English titles, Chelsea's players are as determined as they are to regain the trophy they twice lifted under Mourinho and a first championship since 1990 remains the obsession of Liverpool. And everyone fancies their chances, even if Liverpool's defeat of United came on the back of four straight defeats and four defeats in nine in the Premier League.The playing field has never looked more level, even if one potential obstacle for Chelsea has already been removed. Here's how the teams have fared in previous seasons after the opening 10 games (with their final league position in brackets). 2009 - 2010Liverpool 4Arsenal 2United 2Chelsea 2Total 10 (of which seven were to teams outside the top four)2008 - 2009Liverpool (2nd) 0Arsenal (4th) 2United (1st) 1Chelsea (3rd) 1Total 4 (of which three were to teams outside the top four) Nightmare: Darren Bent scores Sunderland's freak 'beach ball' goal to condemn Liverpool to a fourth league defeat of the season 2007-2008Liverpool (4th) 0Arsenal (3rd) 0United (1st) 1Chelsea (2nd) 2Total 3 (of which two were to teams outside the top four)2006-2007Liverpool (3rd) 4Arsenal (4th) 2United (1st) 1Chelsea (2nd) 1Total 8 (of which five were to teams outside the top four) Heading for defeat: Arsenal suffered their second Premier League reversal of the season at Manchester City last month2005-2006Liverpool (3rd) 2Arsenal (4th) 3United (2nd) 2Chelsea (1st) 0Total 6 (of which four were to teams outside the top four)2004-2005Liverpool (5th) 3Arsenal (2nd) 0United (3rd) 1Chelsea (1) 1Total 5 (of which two were to teams outside the top four) Beasted: Carrick's spot-kick is saved by Brian Jensen during United's defeat at recently promoted Burnley MARTIN SAMUEL: Liverpool v United - A cracking scrap but where was the class?West Ham 2 Arsenal 2: Gunners throw away two-goal lead as Diamanti shinesSurprise, surprise: Fergie rages at ref after Liverpool and Torres stun UnitedGraham Poll's Official Line: Sir Alex, you're wrong - Vidic rightly saw red Explore more:People:Xabi Alonso, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Essien, MARK HUGHES, Emmanuel Adebayor, Carlo Ancelotti, Brian Jensen, Yuri Zhirkov, Alex Ferguson, FERNANDO TORRES, Didier Drogba, Darren Bent, John TerryPlaces:Liverpool, Chelsea, Birmingham, Angola