A year is not such a long time in the English Premier League, it seems. Twelve months ago, Chelsea were top of the table, followed by Manchester United and Arsenal, with Manchester City and Tottenham a little further back.
The top five is the same now, except that Arsenal and United have swapped places, and for some signs of change we have to look a little further down the table. The biggest talking point is the underperformance of top-six regulars Liverpool and Aston Villa, and the Reds are likely to get another reminder of their decline when they host Chelsea tomorrow.
Liverpool are gradually finding some form, with three wins and a draw from their past four matches in all competitions, but they are still only 13th in the table and Chelsea are playing at a higher level. The Blues destroyed Spartak Moscow in the Champions League midweek, making it six wins and a draw out of seven since their 1-0 defeat at Manchester City six weeks ago.
Chelsea have conceded only two goals during that seven-match unbeaten run. Liverpool have scored nil or one in seven of their 10 Premier League games, while failing to keep a clean sheet in the same number - that looks a fatal combination against Chelsea.
Chelsea's odds are based more on Liverpool's reputation than results and they look good value to end the mini-revival of Roy Hodgson's side. A low-scoring match looks a strong possibility, with none of the past nine league meetings between the sides having produced more than two goals.
Villa, sixth in each of the past three seasons but only 14th now, appear even less likely than Liverpool to get back to their former position and the bet of the weekend in the Premier League is Fulham to beat Villa at Craven Cottage.