City have 89 points, one more than rivals Liverpool, with both teams having three games to play -- and none of them against top six opponents.
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday.
Manager Roy Hodgson has hinted that Liverpool are unlikely to mount a Premier League title challenge this season.
Liverpool will start favourites but PSV Eindhoven coach Ronald Koeman will fancy another English scalp when the Dutch club host the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
The four-times European champions went through 3-2 on aggregate after losing 0-1 in the second leg Champions League quarter-final.
Arsenal will host Newcastle United in the outstanding League Cup third-round tie after the draw was made on Saturday.
Ryan Giggs scored both times for Manchester United; Harry Kewell pulled one back for Liverpool.
Mario Balotelli will return to Liverpool's squad for the festive programme but manager Brendan Rodgers was hardly effusive in his praise of the Italy's striker's credentials.
Steven Gerrard was again Liverpool's saviour on Sunday as the inspirational captain secured a 1-1 draw with Everton in the Merseyside rivals' fourth-round FA Cup tie at Anfield. Gerrard struck nine minutes after halftime to cancel Joleon Lescott's first-half header as the game finished with the same score as their Premier League meeting on the same ground last Monday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for at least four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up last weekend, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday.
Liverpool's half-baked pre-season transfer dealings have come back to bite them with Brendan Rodgers admitting his side have lacked the quality to finish in the Premier League's top four.
Arsenal beat Liverpool 4-2 to take a seven-point lead over Chelsea at the top of the league with seven matches remaining.
Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Sunday.
Manchester United climbed two places up to second in the Premier League after Marcus Rashford scored deep into stoppage time to give them a fortuitous 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
Arsenal also suffered a shock defeat when they went down 2-1 at Stoke City and Hull City came from 1-4 down to push Manchester United all the way before losing 4-3 at Old Trafford, in the English Premier League.
Fans are openly speculating that owner Roman Abramovich, a man who places notoriously high demands on his managers, could call time on Jose Mourinho's second spell at Stamford Bridge if Liverpool can inflict another defeat on the champions.
Holders Barcelona suffered a stunning 2-1 home defeat by Russia's Rubin Kazan while Liverpool lost by the same score to Olympique Lyon at Anfield on a night of high drama and late goals in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp called for his players to "stay calm" and does not expect to expect wholesale changes against Burton Albion on Tuesday as they seek to quickly bounce back from their 2-0 defeat at Burnley.
Liverpool kept their push for a top-four finish in the Premier League on course as Emre Can thundered home a second-half winner to complete a hard-earned 2-1 comeback win over Burnley at a relieved Anfield on Sunday.
A stunning strike from Jordan Henderson helped Liverpool secure a comfortable 2-1 win at Chelsea on Friday that ended the London club's unbeaten start to the season and underlined the growing potential of Juergen Klopp's side.
Arsenal beat north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 to surge top of the English Premier League.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Manchester City are top on goal difference, with Chelsea second and Liverpool dropping to third, two points ahead of Arsenal, who routed Fulham 5-1.
Manager Arsene Wenger has silenced his critics with Arsenal's rip-roaring start to the season, club great Dennis Bergkamp said on Friday.
After a six-match unbeaten start to his reign as Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp came down to earth with a bump as his side lost 2-1 to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Sunday.
Two defeats and a draw from their first three matches in Group A left Liverpool in the mire and needing a Houdini-like escape act to stay alive
Aston Villa blew a chance to go eight points clear of Arsenal in the race for England's fourth Champions League berth Sunday after conceding two late goals against relegation-threatened Stoke City. The 2-2 draw, with Stoke cancelling out their hosts' 2-0 lead in the final three minutes, left fourth-placed Villa six points ahead of Arsenal and three adrift of second-placed Chelsea and Liverpool in the Premier League.
Phil Foden kept Manchester City's Premier League title challenge on track with a superb second-half double as his side hit back to clinch a 3-1 home victory over Manchester United on Sunday.
Wolves took the lead a minute later when Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross found Sarabia poorly marked in the middle of the box. The Spain international headed past Grbic to score his third goal in the campaign.
Favourites Barcelona will meet Benfica in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
Gerard Delofeu's late goal earned Everton a deserved 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday after Mesut Ozil's strike seemed set to seal three points for the home side.
Liverpool striker Luis Suarez has a 70 million-pound escape clause in his new 200,000-pound-a-week contract with the club, under which he could stay in Anfield until 2018 just before Christmas.
Anthony Martial introduced himself to Manchester United fans with a superb goal to complete a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool and cap a much-improved performance from Louis van Gaal's side on Saturday.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp could enter the transfer market after Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren suffered hamstring pulls to deepen the club's injury crisis, British media reported.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
2015 couldn't have started any worse for a Liverpoool fan as Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will leave the club.