LONDON, England (Reuters) – From the moment Burnley celebrated their return to the top flight of English football with a shock 1-0 victory over Manchester United on a warm August evening the Premier League has gone slightly crazy.

That result set the tone for one of the most intriguing seasons in the much-hyped league since its inception and as a busy Christmas period approaches the upsets are coming thick and fast like the snow that has blanketed much of England.

For all its money and razzamatazz, the Premier League has been criticised for being predictable with the Champions League regulars United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal treating the top like a private members club.

Not this season. Suddenly the rabble are hammering loudly at the door and the establishment is under attack as Fulham’s dismantling of champions United showed on Saturday.

While Chelsea hold a four-point lead everything still looks up for grabs, be it the ultimate prize of the title or the consolation of Champions League spots.

A look at the statistics tells the story. At this stage last season those top four clubs had lost 10 matches between them. This time around that figure is 19, two more already than the total defeats suffered by the elite quartet last season.

Liverpool, languishing in eighth place, have lost seven, compared to one this time last year, while United have been beaten five times compared to two 12 months ago and Chelsea have one more in the loss column.

Only third-placed Arsenal buck the trend, although Arsene Wenger’s side have still lost four matches, compared to the five at this stage in 2008-09.

What seems clear is that the aura surrounding the big four is vanishing. United were not just beaten by homely Fulham, they were lucky to get away with a 3-0 hammering, although injuries did ravage their defence.

Chelsea were unable to capitalise fully, however, scraping a 1-1 draw at second-from-bottom West Ham United on Sunday meaning Carlo Ancelotti’s side have won just once in four league games and once in six in all competitions.

FAIR GAME
Liverpool seem fair game for just about any team in the Premier League as their 2-0 defeat at Portsmouth on Saturday illustrated while Arsenal, for all their panache, can be exposed away from home, as seen in last month’s defeat at Sunderland.

Liverpool’s malaise has given a golden opportunity to a bunch of clubs desperate to break into the top four, including Aston Villa, who are fourth, Tottenham Hotspur in fifth and financial muscle men Manchester City, who sacked manager Mark Hughes despite being just a few points behind in sixth.

“You’ve got Aston Villa, Manchester City, ourselves and Fulham. We are all pushing to get into the top four and, you never know, one could make it, two could make it,” Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp said after his side’s 2-0 victory at Blackburn Rovers put them just four points behind United.

“It is not impossible. Villa look very strong, we are playing well, Manchester City have got a good squad, Fulham are in great form.”

Martin O’Neill’s Villa have put together a four-match winning run but their credentials will be put to the test with back-to-back games against Arsenal and Liverpool over Christmas.

However Steve Bruce, whose Sunderland side were beaten by Villa last week, is in no doubt that Villa have what it takes to last the pace.

“Martin won’t like me saying this but for me, if I was a betting man, my money would be on Villa to break into the top four,” Bruce, a title winner with Manchester United, said.

Chelsea travel to buoyant Birmingham on December 26 and two days later square up to Fulham at home while Manchester United will patch up their defence for a trip to Hull City before entertaining Wigan Athletic.

In normal seasons those two United fixtures would be pencilled as three-pointers but the champions look wounded at the moment and the lesser lights of the league are queuing up for an unexpected Christmas bonus.