A statistic to try to digest before tonight’s mouthwatering clash at the Etihad Stadium: only once in the Premier League era have a team with at least 15 wins in their first 20 matches failed to win the title — yet that is the unhappy fate that awaits two of Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur this season.

That says much about a season in which the leading teams are racking up wins and points at an extraordinary rate. Tottenham’s tally of 48 points from 21 matches is only one fewer than Arsenal’s Invincibles had at the same stage in 2003-04. It is the same as Manchester United had at this point in 2007-08, when they finished as champions of England and Europe, and ten