After beating Crystal Palace 1-0 at a foggy Selhurst Park on Saturday, Chelsea extended their Premier League winning streak to 11 consecutive games.
Since making the shift to a 3-4-3 formation following a 3-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal on 24 September, Antonio Conte's men have looked unstoppable as they've steamrolled all in their path to take a six-point lead at the top of the table.
This impressive run of form, coupled with the stumbling results of some of the division's expected challengers, has led to the Blues being made overwhelming 8/11 favourites to claim the title in May.
But there are reasons to be cautious about ordaining Chelsea as the Premier League champions at such an early juncture. After all, earlier in the season it looked as though Pep Guardiola's Manchester City were destined to cruise to the title, but now they are seven points off the pace in third.
Things change in football. And fast.
With their recent run of results and the manner with which they have dispatched all before them over the last two months, Chelsea deserve to be considered favourites. But to assume that everyone else is merely playing for second at this stage would be misguided. There are still reasons to believe that Chelsea might not have it all their own way this season.
Diego Costa has been outstanding at the point of the Stamford Bridge club's attack, leading the race for the golden boot with 13 goals. But what if he is not able to sustain his current productivity?
During his final season with Atletico Madrid, Costa bagged 20 La Liga goals before Christmas, and registered only seven during the second half of the campaign. The following season, his first with Chelsea, the Brazil-born Spain international racked up 17 strikes by 17 January but only found the net three times in the final three months of the title-winning campaign.
Costa has been responsible for 37% of Chelsea's Premier League goals this term. If he were to suffer the kind of drop-off that he endured in 2013-14 and 2014-15, the Blues could come unstuck.
Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi was signed in the summer to add depth and provide competition for Costa. But the 22-year-old has played just 78 minutes of Premier League football and would lack the match sharpness required to stand in for the prolific hitman.
Another reason to bet against Chelsea is the fact that they appear to lack depth in the wing-back positions.
In Conte's 3-4-3, the wing-backs are vital to both the defensive and attacking phases of play. The specialist role requires its occupants to provide width going forward, as Eden Hazard and Pedro or Willian in the wide attacking positions play far narrower than they had in the 4-2-3-1 that Jose Mourinho used last season.
They are also tasked with ensuring that the wide centre-backs are not exposed and have to be constantly aware of the space they leave behind them. 
It is a job which requires a tremendous level of fitness from a player, as they are needed to continuously traverse the full length of the touchline for 90 minutes.

With Chelsea only having Marcos Alonso and Victor Moses - himself a converted winger - to occupy the wing-back positions, an injury to either could have serious consequences. Unless the Blues take to the transfer market in January to acquire cover, such a situation would force Conte to either crowbar an unsuited player into the position, or consider switching formation entirely.
So, as it stands, Chelsea are rightful title favourites and are in an extremely strong position heading into the Christmas period. But the odds-on west Londoners have a long way to go before they secure their sixth top-flight title.

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