After six weeks of being lost in the wilderness, Liverpool have turned up safe and sound. But what a strange time to emerge. You would think that home games against Swansea, Southampton or Wolves would be perfect for manager Jurgen Klopp's weary troops to rediscover their touch, but no. Instead, the victims were title-chasing, defensively formidable Tottenham. It's probably too late for Liverpool to reignite a title challenge, but it certainly makes the top-four battle interesting. The Reds are going whoosh again; can they keep it up?

After Southampton's timid European exit, rampant tinkering and three successive defeats, fans were beginning to have doubts about manager Claude Puel. The acquisition of Manolo Gabbiadini might just keep the wolf from the door for a little longer. The 25-year-old struck twice against Sunderland to bring his tally to three in two games. Only two Southampton players -- Charlie Austin with six and Jay Rodriguez with four -- have scored more league goals all season. No wonder Saints were happy to pay £20 million.

Chelsea have dominated almost the entire Premier League, but they couldn't get the better of one of the division's smallest clubs. Burnley's record at Turf Moor is extraordinary: Of the 30 points they've won this season, 29 have been claimed at home. They're driven, determined and disciplined, and they deserved to be applauded at the end of each half Sunday. Survival is very nearly assured for Sean Dyche & Co. If their away record was even halfway decent, they'd be pushing for Europe.

You have to salute Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger's coolness under fire. Back-to-back defeats in the league? No panic. Mounting rebellion in the stands? No panic. A club legend suddenly telling the world that you were on the verge of walking away? Relax. Other managers would be in full-blown siege mentality by now, lashing out at journalists. Wenger just carries on doing what he's doing. You can't begrudge three points to a man like that, and Arsenal's win over Hull will ease the nerves before a season-defining week.

Victory over Leicester means it's three wins in four for Swansea under Paul Clement, and the Welsh side is rising out of the mire and into what looks suspiciously like midtable safety. Few managers have had such a profound impact on their new players than the former Derby boss: The Swans are a team transformed. And to think, we all thought Clement was mad to exchange Bayern Munich for what seemed to be an impossible job. He's going to pull this off.
With victory against Leicester, Swansea moved four points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.

VILLAINS

They have lost five straight league games, have failed to score in six, and are the only team in the top five European leagues yet to net in 2017. They are also one point above the drop zone. And yes, they are the champions. Leicester are making history all over again. Manager Claudio Ranieri was given a vote of confidence, but this team is bereft of that particular attribute. If something doesn't change soon, they are going down. Dare they do the unthinkable and bin the Italian? It might be the only chance they have of survival.

On Saturday, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said, "Chelsea are a very good defensive team. They defend very well and with lots of players, and I think in this situation a very defensive team wins the title." He leads one of the world's biggest clubs and is two points away from second place, but he's still obsessing about Chelsea. In fairness, it must be hard to watch his old team steamroller the league just over a year after he left them one point above the relegation zone, but come on, Jose. Let it go.

Several teams have beaten Liverpool this year, including one -- Wolves -- that isn't even in the Premier League, and they've all done it the same way: Sit deep, plug gaps, exploit haunting defensive vulnerabilities, and then pick them off on the counterattack after they repeatedly run into your defenders. Why Tottenham chose to push up, leave space and then repeatedly give the ball away is anyone's guess, but you'd be surprised if anyone else does anything that silly again vs. Klopp's men.

You cannot turn your back on Sunderland for a moment. You watch them attack with fearlessness, you watch them demolish a relegation rival, you watch them beaming with happiness for the first time in ages, you think they're going to be OK, and you go to make a cup of tea. But before you've even switched on the kettle, there's a loud crash, a scream, and when you come back in the room, they've somehow set themselves on fire. Relegation really might be the best thing for them at this stage.

What on earth is going on at Crystal Palace? No new manager bounce. No defensive resilience and no goals, either. Defeat at Stoke means that Sam Allardyce's side have drawn a blank in four of their last five games. Of all the squads in relegation danger, theirs is probably the most accomplished. Yet they look absolutely destined for the Championship. There's only one winner here, and that's previous manager Alan Pardew. Is that the world you want to live in?