People are predicting the end of the Premier League as we know it just because Chelsea showed so little ambition against Manchester City when they had a chance to at least lay a glove on the champions elect.

It is one thing for a team such as Newcastle to attempt to keep the score down against top sides in the hope of a favourable goal difference at the end of the season but if the defending champions are now at it the game has obviously gone.

Think of all the stick José Mourinho received when he parked the bus at Anfield in October, yet at least Manchester United emerged with a point. Chelsea got nothing from the Etihad Stadium, which was exactly what they deserved, and in the process of boring everyone half to death they amusingly managed to antagonise Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher, who found themselves unable to promote their televised product as the entertainment advertised.

Much more of that and the walls of the Premier League fortress really will start to creak, though before jumping to conclusions or conspiracy theories it may be better to wait a week or so. Chelsea are at Barcelona in the Champions League next Wednesday, the tie is delicately poised at 1-1, and it is just possible Antonio Conte was trying to give his players the best chance of success at Camp Nou by not running them too hard in chasing lost causes at home.

If so it would be a high-risk strategy. Defeat in Spain would draw attention to the possibility Chelsea could well be competing in the Europa League next season but Conte’s side were not that far away from Barcelona’s level at Stamford Bridge. If they play as well as they did in the first half at United last month there is a possibility Eden Hazard or Willian may find something to smile about. Equally things could end up even more pear‑shaped than they are at the moment, but that is the gamble you take when you arrive at a position where a season-saving result is necessary against one of the best teams in Europe.

Consistency is what most teams strive for, it is certainly what powered Chelsea to the title last season and though United returned to second place with their last-gasp win at Crystal Palace, it could be argued Liverpool, up next at Old Trafford, are having the more consistent campaign. Take Manchester City out of the equation and the pair would be engaged in an old-fashioned ding‑dong at the top, with the meeting on Saturday being billed as a title showdown. Even with City miles out in front an encounter between United and Liverpool can hardly fail to be interesting, especially with Mourinho and Jürgen Klopp in charge.

Klopp was frustrated at Anfield because United refused to come out of their defensive crouch and make a game of it, though at the same time he was unwilling to gamble too much in search of a win. United are likely to adopt a similarly cautious approach even when playing at home, because they are aware of the damage players such as Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané can do if allowed space. United are also encouraged by the knowledge defensive tactics have already worn down Tottenham and Chelsea at Old Trafford and Mourinho will doubtless want to see if he can pressure Liverpool into a mistake.

Liverpool defensive blunders have not exactly been a scarce currency this season, and though to an extent they have tightened up at the back you still feel goalscoring ability is their chief advantage. Only City have scored more goals but only Liverpool have beaten City in the league and it does not seem to be in Klopp’s nature to ask his players to play within themselves.

“I want my players to view each game as a battle to be won,” the Liverpool manager said recently. “If you look at the very best sportspeople in history and the present you see something in their eyes that makes you think that when they are competing they can never be happy or satisfied. This is what I want from us now. Aggression has a negative context, as does anger, but in football it can be the greatest of attributes and a massive positive. I want to see my players angry. Not satisfied or complacent but hungry, alert and aggressive.”

It should be stressed Klopp was not talking about the United game there, much less having a go at Chelsea’s apparent defeatism, but setting out (in his programme notes before playing Newcastle) his general sporting principles.

As it happens Chelsea’s players do seem quite angry at the moment, just not in a positive way. They could do with some of what Klopp is describing at Barcelona, though the Liverpool manager seems to suggest aggression is not easily switched on and off, even if his side could afford to cruise against Porto on Tuesday as a result of the bite shown in the first leg.

While Chelsea’s position is much more precarious, if Conte gets away with this one he will be back to being a genius again and Hazard may find himself reclassified as hard to stop instead of hard to find. Pain in Spain, on the other hand, will see Chelsea discover more than they already know about anger in its negative context.