Newcastle (1st; 78pts; +102) - the Magpies make no mistakes this month and steal the march from Rovers. The title is theirs to lose now.
Player of the month: Pape Diédhiou (DC/DM) 8.74
0 Current first team injuries.
Blackburn (2nd; 78pts; +46) - Rovers make it 24 league wins in a row although Newcastle matched their form this month and got ahead of them because of their superior goal difference.
Player of the month: Savio Barreto (DC) 8.22
0 Current first team injuries.
Manchester United (3rd; 66pts; +41) - the Red Devils enjoy a perfect month with four out of four and still have the advantage over Leeds for third place.
Player of the month: Almamy Traoré (AMR/ST) 8.00
2 Current first team injuries:
Raymond McFadden (DRL/WBR) - 2-3 months (torn hamstring)
Milan Milovanovic (M/AMC) - 2-3 weeks (sprained ankle)
Leeds (4th; 62pts; +36) - a home loss to Newcastle is the only mistake Leeds make this month although it means they face an uphill challenge to catch Manchester United now. It is good enough to extend the gap ahead of Chelsea and Liverpool though and they are set for more Champions League football next season.
Player of the month: Ahn Jung-Ho (ST) 8.28
1 Current first team injury:
Konstantin Chumak (MC) - 3-4 weeks (fractured wrist)
Chelsea (5th; 54pts; +26) - the Blues take only 4 points this month and their flawless January has been in vain. Top four is now mission impossible.
Player of the month: Tajuddin Hossain (M/AML) 7.86
2 Current first team injuries:
Slobodan Magazin (M/AMC) - 7-8 weeks (torn hamstring)
Leonardo Martinez (DC) - 8-10 days (damaged elbow)
Liverpool (6th; 52pts; +15) - the Reds manage just two wins from four games this month and heavy defeats at the hands of Newcastle and Manchester United prevent them from taking advantage of Chelsea's abysmal form.
Player of the month: Igor Gajic (DM/MC) 7.86
3 Current first team injuries:
Viv Bevan (DL) - 2-3 months (torn hamstring)
Eirik Mork (MC/ST) - 5-6 weeks (lower back stress fracture)
Jason Kenworthy (GK) - 4-5 weeks (torn groin muscle)
Other teams to watch:
Manchester City (7th) - the Citizens are nowhere near the title contenders now and their hopes of return to Europe are reliant on an unlikely FA Cup final between Newcastle and Chelsea or Liverpool - if either of the latter makes it in the top four.
Arsenal (9th) - the Gunners could only achieve European football if they win Europa League or trigger the unlikely scenario described for Manchester City if they can beat the Citizens and Everton to 7th.
Swansea (12th) - the Swans move even further up the charts and are now 11 points above the drop zone. They should be safe and can start planning for another season in the Premier League.
Crewe Alexandra (17th) - they climbed out of the bottom three but merely by two points.
Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Aston Villa occupy the bottom three. They have the least wins in the league and completely deserve their positions in the table. There is still hope for Sunderland although survival hopes are quickly fading for Palace who are six points below the line. The Villains are doomed with just 7 points to show for 27 games.
