On a four-match winning run, Chelsea will expect to extend that good form to five games when they take on bottom club Queens Park Rangers in the English Premier League Wednesday.
Manchester United and Manchester City pulled fourteen and seven points clear respectively after their easy wins on New Year's Day. However, Chelsea have two games in hand from their fellow title contenders, and can reduce the gap starting with a win over QPR.
Harry Redknapp's side are in dire straits, having picked up just 10 points in 20 matches so far this season. They could, though, go equal on points with second bottom Reading with a victory over Chelsea.
With fixtures coming in thick and fast, Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez admitted he was likely to make a few changes to the team that won 2-1 against Everton.
"We changed two players for the Everton game to bring in fresh legs and when you play a lot of games in a short period it is really important to have players with fresh legs and energy, so I tried to manage this in the past games," he said.
"It was a difficult decision because against Norwich on Boxing Day we played a good game and to change players who were doing well is not easy, because everybody when they have a good game thinks I want to continue.
"You try to explain that we want to keep everyone ready, and now maybe we want to do the same again and hopefully they will understand and we keep the level of the team."
The Blues will be without John Terry and Petr Cech, who suffered an injury against Everton, while John Obi Mikel and Ryan Bertrand are also doubts.
Redknapp believes his side have nothing to lose at Chelsea, and will go all out for an upset. "Chelsea will be really tough," he told the club's official website. "Rafa Benitez is a top, top manager and he's gone in there -- with an unbelievable squad -- and got some very good results.
"They're in great form and it's a massive ask for us. We've got to believe we can beat them though. It's a London derby. Who knows? Maybe we can produce a shock result. We'll give it a real go."
To watch Chelsea vs QPR Live Stream, click here.
Expected lineups: Chelsea: Turnbull; Azpilicueta, Cahill, Ivanovic, Cole; Ramires, Lampard; Moses, Mata, Oscar; Torres.
QPR: Cesar; Onuoha, Nelsen, Hill, Traore; Diakite, Mbia, Mackie, Taarabt, Wright-Phillips; Cisse.
Prediction: 2-0 to Chelsea
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