Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1207647
21 maltatoday | WEDNESDAY • 5 FEBRUARY 2020 SPORTS FOOTBALL LIVERPOOL are on course to win their first league title for 30 years quicker than any side in history while they also have their eyes on a number of other records. Liverpool are not only on the brink of ending their 30-year wait for a 19th league title, but they're on course to do it in the most emphatic way possible. The runaway leaders are currently on 73 points after 24 wins and a draw from 25 games, which is five more than Manchester City's all-conquering 'Cen- turions' had earned at this stage of the 2017/2018 campaign. If Liverpool win all their remaining games they'll finish on 112! Liverpool are also a mammoth 22 points clear of the defending champi- ons, who can now reach a maximum of 90 after losing to Spurs on Sunday, so they just need another 18 to seal the title. Should the Reds smash - or emulate - a whole host of other records in their sights then it'll be a fascinating de- bate as to where Jurgen Klopp's men rank among the Premier League's most dominant ever sides, including Man- chester United's treble winners, Arse- nal's 'Invincibles', the aforementioned 'Centurions' - as well as City's so-called 'Fourmidables' of last season - or even Jose Mourinho's Chelsea sides from 2004-2006. The fact this is all coinciding with their arch-rivals' worst season for 30 years - when Liverpool last won the league - is just footballing poetry, and if the trends of the two clubs continue in this vein for the forceable future then it may not be too long before Liverpool surpass United's all-time leading haul of 20 titles. When and where could Liverpool win the title? Two seasons ago, Man City's Centu- rions missed out on eclipsing United's earliest ever Premier League title-win- ning date of April 14 by just one day - thanks to a derby defeat at the Etihad - but Liverpool are well on course to do it. As things stand, Klopp's side need just six more wins from their remaining 13 games to reach the 'magic number 'of 91 points because the maximum City can now achieve is 90. If you look at both club's upcoming fixture list below, that could well mean their first Premier League title party begins at the home of the defending champions, who trail by 22 points, on the weekend of April 4. For that to stand a chance of hap- pening, however, Man City must also win all their games until that point - although if Liverpool fail to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals, the Reds will be able to wrap it up a week earlier against Crystal Palace at Anfield. It could all end even sooner when you consider City travel to Leicester, Man- chester United and Chelsea as well as hosting Arsenal before they face Liver- pool. Therefore, another potential party date could also be Monday March 16 when they make the short trip to the home of their Merseyside rivals Ever- ton (8pm Sky Sports). One possible way for that to happen would be Liverpool winning their next four games, taking their tally to 85, with City dropping three to five points from their matches against West Ham, Leicester, Arsenal and Man United. This would reduce their maximum possible points haul to 85 to 87. Whatever date they celebrate glo- ry, it seems almost certain they do it with more than five games remaining, eclipsing a Manchester United record from the 2000/01 season. To put that into contest, Arsenal's 'Invincibles' of 2003-04 only re-took top spot in the table by winning game 22 of their season and led by five at this stage, though they won the title with four games to spare and by an eventual 11-point margin. One other record they could equal at the Etihad is Arsenal's all-time unbeat- en Premier League run of 49 games. Liverpool's record targets Potential Premier League records & title dates Liverpool won't be able to break all of these but they could smash a number of them and equal some others... • Earliest title-winning date: 14 April (Man Utd, 2000/01) • Record games remaining: Five games (Man Utd 2000/01, Man City 2017/18) • Biggest title-winning margin: 19 points (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 22 • Most points: 100 (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 73 (Most possible: 112) • Most wins: 32 (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 24 (Most possible: 37) • Most home wins: 18 (Chelsea, 2005/06; Man Utd, 2010/11; Man City, 2011/12 & 2018/19) - CURRENT: 13 (Most possible: 19) • Most away wins: 16 (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 12 (Most possible: 18) • Most goals: 106 (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 60 • Most home goals: 68 (Chelsea 2009/10) - CURRENT: 35 • Most away goals: 48 (Liverpool, 2013/14) - CURRENT: 25 • Biggest positive goal difference: 79 (Man City, 2017/18) - CURRENT: 45 • Most consecutive wins: 18 (Man City Aug-Dec 2017) - CURRENT: 16 • Quickest side to score 100 goals in a Premier League season: 35 games (Manchester City 2017/18) • Fewest Premier League defeats in a season: 0 (Arsenal 2003/04) - CURRENT: 0 • Fewest home defeats in a season: 0 (Man U x3, Arsenal x3, Chelsea x5, Liverpool x3, Man City x1, Spurs x1) - CURRENT - 0 • Fewest away defeats in a season: 0 (Arsenal 2001/02, 2003/04) - CURRENT: 0 • Longest unbeaten Premier League run overall: 49 (Arsenal 7th May 2003 to 24th October 2004) - CURRENT: 42 • Most consecutive home games undefeated: 86 (Chelsea 20th March 2004 to 5th October 2008) - CURRENT: 54 since April 2017, can't break it this season • Most consecutive away games undefeated: 27 (Arsenal 5th April 2003 to 25th September 2004) - CURRENT: 20 since January 3rd 2019 Liverpool are marching towards the Premier League title