EPL: Top-four battle heats up for big spenders

West Bromwich Albions Irish midfielder James McClean L vies with Manchester Citys Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne during the English Premier League football match between Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester north west England on January 31 2018 PicAFPThe intensifying battle for Champions League places takes centre stage in the Premier League this weekend as Liverpool host Tottenham while Manchester United and Chelsea seek to recover from damaging defeats Just five points now separate United in second from Spurs in fifth with the riches and prestige of a place in the Champions League for next season fuelling a record Acircpound430 million 611 million 492 million euros splurge in the January transfer windowArsenal sit a distant sixth six points behind their north London rivals provoking an uncharacteristically busy window of comings and goings at the Emirates Top four contenders at a crossroads Philippe Coutinhos 160millioneuro move to Barcelona meant Liverpool ended January in the black despite splashing out a worldrecord pound75 million for a defender on Southamptons Virgil van Dijk Despite holding their own in this seasons Champions League and domestically Liverpool and Spurs are not even in the top 10 for net spend on transfers in the Premier League this season However the steady progress achieved by both clubs under Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino will be threatened if they miss out on next seasons Champions League making Sundays clash at Anfield all the more vitalA dominant 20 victory over Manchester United on Wednesday underlined Spurs return to form and a win at Anfield would move them ahead of their hosts in the table Backtoback defeats to Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion raised questions over Liverpools decision not to invest in a direct replacement for Coutinho but they bounced back to see off Huddersfield 30 in midweek and remain unbeaten in the league at Anfield this seasonAubameyangs bow A forward line partnering new recruits PierreEmerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan with Mesut Ozil who has signed a new longterm deal means the pessimism of a damaging 31 defeat at Swansea on Tuesday was quickly forgotten However with Spurs and City to follow Evertons visit to the Emirates Arsene Wenger will need to former Dortmund duo to quickly reestablish their partnership to keep in touch with the other challengersThe Gunners could also quickly come to rue their winter clearout as Theo Walcott returns to the Emirates fresh from scoring twice to secure Evertons first win of 2018 against Leicester on WednesdayNot so merry Mahrez Leicester were hampered at Goodison Park by the absence of Riyad Mahrez who reportedly handed in a transfer request due to Citys interest in a bid to force his way out of the clubMahrez also submitted a transfer request at the end of last season but Foxes boss Claude Puel believes the Algerian can be cheered up in time to face Swansea on Saturday All the players and staff will help him to come back with a smile and to enjoy his football said the Frenchman Chopping City down to size Citys chase of Mahrez began after Leroy Sane was ruled out for at least six weeks with ankle ligament damage Pep Guardiolas call for referees to protect players from dangerous challenges fell on deaf ears as Kevin De Bruyne and Brahim Diaz escaped from lunges by James McLean and Matt Phillips in Wednesdays routine 30 win over West Bromwich Albion as City moved 15 points clear at the topI think as the coach says the referees have to do their job and if its a red card they have to give the red card said City midfielder Bernardo Silva They are not doing that over the last few months City could be in for another bruising encounter when they travel to face a Burnley side seeking their first win of the yearCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go