Chelsea’s dream spine come February

Premier League leaders Chelsea stamped their authority on the title race with a 2-0 win over Hull last weekend to move eight points clear at the top.

Blues boss Antonio Conte recalled star striker Diego Costa to the starting eleven after he was left out of the side that beat Leicester ten days ago, and the Spaniard got right back into the swing of things with his 15th goal of the season just before half time.

The hosts made it two nine minutes from time when Gary Cahill headed home Cesc Fabregas’ free-kick on a weekend that saw only one of their title challengers, Arsenal, pick up all three points.

Chelsea’s 18th win of the campaign means that they are eight points clear of the Gunners in second with just 16 games to go, and very much in the driving seat in a bid to regain the Premier League title come May.

Nonetheless, Conte may feel that his squad needs reinforcing in the next week of the transfer window to maintain their high level of performance over the coming months, so could dip into the winter window to strengthen his side.

Thus, here is what the dream Chelsea spine could look like come the end of the month…