With 42 points to play for Liverpool can, of course, be caught.

History, however, tells us that it is pretty unlikely.

When the teams behind the league leaders have also played 24 games then the biggest deficit overhauled in the Premier League era was five points.

That was achieved just twice – by Manchester United in 2003 and Manchester City six years ago.

The biggest points gap that has been overturned after the leaders had played 24 games is nine points.

That was achieved by Manchester United in 1996, but they had not played the same number of games as the then leaders Newcastle, with the Red Devils having played a game more.

The Opta supercomputer has given Liverpool an 88.3% chance of winning the league, compared to just 11.6% for Arsenal.

Nottingham Forest, third in the table, are 10 points behind the Reds and no side has hauled such a gap back to finish first from this stage of season. They have been given a 0.1% chance of ending the season with the trophy.