15 festive title-defining days

SIX title chasers; five London derbies; four festive fixtures; three real contenders; two six-pointers — and a Sturridge with Balotelli.

There may traditionally be 12 days of Christmas but in the Premier League this season there are 15, starting tomorrow and ending on January 4; and they are 15 days that will go a long way to deciding the title.

Chelsea manager Andre Villas-Boas, whose team face Tottenham on Thursday in the first festive six-pointer, believes all the top six, down to Liverpool but not including Newcastle, are potential champions. Whether that will still be the case on January 5, when all those teams will have played four quick-fire fixtures in the space of two weeks, seems unlikely.

Easter is usually the time when the champions-elect start the kind of ruthless winning streak that wipes out all opposition and takes them over the finishing line.

But this season with so many teams in contention a lot of those rules are likely to go out the window; shaking off one opponent with a winning run of five matches is possible but what about the other four?

For Manchester City and Manchester United, the current one and two, the sooner the group begins to splinter the better for their own chances — which means Christmas this year is more important than ever.

They key fixtures are Thursday’s clash between Chelsea and Tottenham at White Hart Lane and Liverpool’s match at Manchester City on January 3; but what makes the festive period so interesting is not the big matches but the fact that all the top six have a run of highly winnable matches — and cannot afford to lose.

Under normal circumstances Manchester United would not be too concerned about a run against Fulham, Wigan, Blackburn and Newcastle which you could expect to bring at least 10 points; but play those matches back-to-back with the added pressure of a squad already thin and it doesn’t look so easy.

United’s injury toll is the biggest threat to their title chase while Spurs, whose large squad appears to be relatively injury-free, may feel they have an advantage.

Already out of the Europa League, Tottenham could now prove to be the real dark horses of the title race. Victory over Chelsea on Thursday would leave them above their rivals in third place with a growing belief that the impossible is no longer impossible.

As manager Harry Redknapp said: “Who says Tottenham can’t win the title? Why shouldn’t we aim for that?

“Tottenham is a great club, has great tradition, great fan base, and in my view it will win the title again one day. So why not now?”

Midfielder Niko Kranjcar, one of the Spurs players back from injury at a critical time, feels the same.

“I do believe we can challenge for it. The results in the previous games have proven that. We are not used to winning the league but the way we are playing and the quality we have in the squad, I believe we can push for it,” he said.

Chelsea will arrive at White Hart Lane wondering if their mini-revival is already over after being held to a frustrating draw at Wigan on Saturday so it’s a massive opportunity for Spurs, whose ensuing games are all winnable — against Norwich, Swansea and West Brom.

The Blues, with serious question marks remaining over their tactics, squad strength and attitude, have two crucial home games against Fulham and Aston Villa over Christmas before completing the season-within-a-season by travelling to Wolves; a series of unpredictable fixtures given Chelsea’s strangely poor home form and Wolves’ reputation for bloodying the noses of the big boys — remember they were the first team to beat Manchester United this season.

Even Arsenal will feel they have a chance of entering the title race – how unlikely a scenario would that have been two months ago – as their Christmas features matches against Aston Villa, Wolves, QPR and Fulham; and if Robin van Persie remains fit for the season (which he has rarely done before) they must be contenders.

Four matches in two weeks will be a big test of Arsene Wenger’s squad, however, because if he does need to rest van Persie, or if his worst nightmare comes true and the Dutchman suffers injury, then the alternatives don’t seem too appetising. And until Arsenal add another striker to their squad can you really see them going the distance?

That brings us to Manchester City, who remain favourites with the bookmakers to do exactly that — and rightly so.

There may have been some recent wobbles but there is little doubt that City have the strongest squad of any team in the top six; a fact that will no doubt be underlined in January when they find a replacement for Carlos Tevez.

The only question is whether they cope with the expectation and intensity of their first ever serious title chase; they cannot rely, as Chelsea and United can, on players who have been there and done it before and that remains a concern.

The FA Cup Third Round tie against Manchester United in early January could prove a huge psychological moment for both teams but Christmas fixtures against Stoke, West Brom and Sunderland don’t look so bad.

Perhaps the defining moment of a busy Christmas, then, could come on January 3 with a home match against Liverpool which is Kenny Dalglish’s opportunity to push his team into contention for the top four and Roberto Mancini’s chance to prove his side will start 2012 as title favourites.

If they come through that test then City are likely to remain there; but keep an eye on Tottenham 12 Days of Christmas look like they could be kind to Harry Redknapp’s men.

Providing they beat the Swans-a-swimming on New Year’s Eve of course.