Manchester City’s recent fall in the Premier League is giving the rest the opportunity to dream

Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

It’s May 19, 2024. You’ve got Liverpool v Wolves on the big TV, you’ve brought the small, very old one from the bedroom for Man City v West Ham, Arsenal v Everton is on the iPad, Graham Potter’s Palace. (fresh from his painful 44-day spell at Manchester United) v Villa is on his phone and Sheffield United v Spurs is on the radio. All five could still win the title. It is unprecedented. Sean Dyche’s Everton could still reach Europe with a victory at the Emirates.

And that’s before we consider the winner-takes-all Burnley v Forest to stay on their feet after Vincent Kompany’s side won six of their last eight. Forest interim manager Martin O’Neill has been given five games to save them following Julen Lopetegui’s disastrous and brief run in charge since February. Rúben Neves, Jordan Henderson, Karim Benzema and N’Golo Kanté are starting for Newcastle at Brentford. Eddie Howe’s team needs a win and results to claim fifth place, which may still be enough to qualify for the Champions League.

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There is very little at stake at the Amex, but all eyes are on the return of Roberto De Zerbi as Manchester United manager. As for Jadon Sancho, 10 goal involvements in his last 10 games is a return on his part. Meanwhile, interim caretaker Frank Lampard has asked Ivan Toney to help his Chelsea team overtake Bournemouth for the Europa Conference League place to secure his seat on the plane to Germany.

You would suggest that most of the above is ridiculous until you start to remember what happened last year. Sam Allardyce at Leeds, Lampard’s real return and Roy Hodgson becoming an Ardiles/Keegan hybrid at Palace for some games.

December is often considered the first moment of counting, as if points were suddenly worth more (see also “the end of business” starting at Easter). European football and international breaks are over. Now there is just a surfeit of Premier League games happening seemingly any day and any time as we approach Christmas. It’s impossible to keep up, even if your job is to keep up with everything.

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But right now it’s possible to dream of a title race that could go all the way. Like many, I assumed City would take the league this year, mainly because the teams below would improve enough to take points off each other, leaving Pep Guardiola’s team to coast.

Pep has a habit of solving everything now, choosing four centre-backs before telling John Stones to leave and thus winning 20 games in a row. They have been vulnerable and successfully caught up before, lulling neutrals or anyone who wants a new winner into believing.

And history, plus Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne in top form, suggests they will be difficult to stop. But that recent game against Villa felt different. Unai Emery’s team may have only won 1-0, but they thrashed them, restricting City to two shots. This is not how City lose games.

Now on to the infernal arguments about whether it’s time to “get serious about Aston Villa”, are they really in the title race? Okay, yes. It doesn’t mean they will be in May, but they have just taken six points off Arsenal and Manchester City. It seems like material that “should be taken seriously.”

I remember a former Villa player (I can’t remember who) talking about how big and wide Villa Park is and that Emery’s use of the width is key. And maybe that’s why his manner at his house is so good. It gave the impression of some kind of gigantic savannah, impossible to see one end from the other: Pete Postlethwaite leaning out of a jeep, taking out his binoculars to see John McGinn passing by a triceratops on the far opposite half.

In the slightly less exciting real world of measurements, he is the same size as Spurs, Arsenal and City, with Anfield slightly shorter. It feels big though, doesn’t it? Perhaps his team will find Wembley’s worn turf a bit small if they reach the FA Cup final.

But Villa is in this. Just like Arsenal. Declan Rice is a great footballer. When he drives with the ball he is cheerful. And in those slightly underrated men of Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka, along with Martin Ødegaard sweeping the ball almost from inside the box every time you look up, they have a real chance. Last year’s experience will surely help them.

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Liverpool are on top without anyone realizing it. Stealthy Liverpool. They have only lost once. And that was until an own goal in the last minute when they had nine men and had already scored. that goal: the VAR goal. Howard Webb and his friends must hope that if they don’t win the title, it will be by more than one or two points. Jürgen Klopp has created a wonderful midfield and five attacking players who bring something different. If they can get over Mo Salah’s absence during Afcon and assume that the Saudis don’t start offering Jon Rahm money for him in January, then they have every chance.

Speaking of Afcon, Spurs losing Pape Sarr and Yves Bissouma while Son Heung-min goes to the Asian Cup will surely be costly. Writing as a full-fledged Ange disciple, he can do no wrong (aside from blowing five leads in five games). Seven points off the top and with a relatively friendly fixture schedule for a while, they could still be in touch until mid-April, when it’s Newcastle (a), Man City (h), Arsenal (h), Liverpool (a) . It’s not the easiest.

Manchester United and Newcastle United no longer have European football. The former are not good and the latter are wrecked, but form can change, players can get fit and others get injured. Right now it doesn’t look like either of them can push anything forward, but they’ve both proven a lot of people wrong before.

The best thing is that none of us know. We can dream, not think about the law of handball (until we are forced to face it) and enjoy it all. Just don’t read this again at the beginning of May, when everything is settled and we are starting to prepare for a Euro quarter-final loss to Portugal.