Liverpool vs Man Utd: The quickest English title wins within reach for Klopp's men

Four teams have won the English top-flight title with five games to spare and Liverpool are threatening to get there even quicker.

Published : Jan 18, 2020 15:11 IST

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp
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Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp

Manchester United will hope to dent Liverpool's hopes of making English top-flight history when the two meet at Anfield on Sunday.

Despite playing a game fewer than their rivals, Jurgen Klopp's men hold a 14-point lead at the top of the Premier League, having only dropped points in one of their 21 matches to date - a 1-1 draw against United in October.

Liverpool's sensational consistency means it is in with a chance of setting a new benchmark for the quickest English top-flight title win in terms of games to spare.

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There have been four instances of teams winning the league in England with five fixtures still to play. We look at the sides Liverpool is threatening to overhaul.

MANCHESTER CITY - 2017-18

City pipped Liverpool by a point on the final day of the season last term, but it was a very different story in the previous campaign as Pep Guardiola's side sauntered to the title.

A victory over rival United at the Etihad Stadium on April 7, 2018 would have seen City become the first team to win the English top flight with six matches to spare, but it gave up a two-goal lead to be beaten 3-2.

That only delayed the inevitable, however. City beat Tottenham 3-1 in its next league game and it was duly crowned champion when United suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to rock-bottom West Brom the following day.

City finished the season with a record Premier League haul of 100 points, 19 clear of United in second.

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MANCHESTER UNITED 2000-01

Prior to City's dominant season of 2017-18, only one Premier League crown had been sealed with five games remaining.

United achieved the feat in 2001, its success confirmed when second-placed Arsenal slumped to a 3-0 home defeat against Middlesbrough.

With the retention of its domestic title secured, United only picked up a further four points, Alex Ferguson's men losing their last three games. Nevertheless, they still finished 10 points clear at the top.

EVERTON 1984-85

The 1980s may have brought plenty of success for Liverpool, but it was also a glorious decade for its Merseyside rival.

Under Howard Kendall, Everton won two league titles, an FA Cup and the European Cup Winners' Cup.

Its First Division triumph in 1984-85 was achieved at a canter, Everton ending the season 13 points above nearest rivals Liverpool and Tottenham.

However, that success did come in a 42-game season, meaning Everton's achievement in winning the league with five games to spare was not quite equal to the others on the list.

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MANCHESTER UNITED 1907-08

The only other instance of a team winning the English top-flight with five games to go came more than a hundred years ago as United was crowned champion for the first time.

A First Division table that featured the likes of Woolwich Arsenal, The Wednesday and Bury was comfortably topped by United.

Billy Meredith - signed from local rival City - played a key role, with Sandy Turnbull another influential figure.

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