Wednesday 4 January 2017 11:53, UK
Are Antonio Conte's Chelsea better than the Blues' previous Premier League title-winning sides? We check the stats to find out.
Chelsea face Tottenham at White Hart Lane live on Sky Sports 1 on Wednesday from 7.30pm - the reverse fixture of last season's Battle of the Bridge, which produced 12 yellow cards and ended 2-2 to crown Leicester champions.
The Blues were battling for nothing more than pride last May but this term they find themselves on a 13-game winning streak and top of the Premier League.
How does Antonio Conte's team compare to Chelsea's four previous Premier League title-winning teams in 2004/05, 2005/06, 2009/10 and 2014/15? We have ranked each team for a range of stats to find out...
Antonio Conte's side only kept one clean sheet from their first six league games this season until they changed to a 3-4-3 formation against Hull in October. Since then, Thibaut Courtois has registered 10 clean sheets from 13 games.
Indeed, that form now means Conte's Chelsea have a clean sheet ratio which is only bettered by their 2004/05 title-winning side during Jose Mourinho's first season in charge at Stamford Bridge - a side which only conceded 15 goals and kept 25 clean sheets.
However, in terms of goals against, Conte only has the third best ratio after a poor September saw the Blues concede two goals at Swansea, two against Liverpool and Leicester and three at Arsenal.
The general stats suggest Chelsea are playing in a similar style to their 2014/15 side, during Mourinho's second term in charge.
Conte's men complete an almost identical number of passes in both halves, a similar average possession and slightly more completed dribbles - boosted by the wing-back system with Victor Moses and Marcos Alonso.
During Chelsea's three other title-winning seasons, the Blues attempted far more crosses but, conversely, far fewer dribbles and passes in the opposition half.
The lack of crosses has reflected in Conte's current attacking stats, recording by far the lowest headed goal ratio of all title-winning Chelsea teams.
But the direct goal threat of Diego Costa and Eden Hazard means Conte has the second-highest goal ratio with 2.2 goals a game, only behind Carlo Ancelotti's free-scoring Chelsea in 2009/10 which averaged at 2.7.
In fact, Ancelotti's Chelsea excelled across the board in attack, scoring 103 league goals during the season, with Didier Drogba (29 goals), Frank Lampard (22), Florent Malouda (12) and Nicolas Anelka (11) all among the goals.
Ancelotti's 2009/10 Chelsea team lead Conte's team and Mourinho's three title-winning sides for goals scored, total shots, shots on target and almost double the ratio of any other Chelsea side for headed goals.
However, Chelsea also conceded 32 goals under Ancelotti, joint highest with Mourinho's 2014/15 side.
In addition, Ancelotti lost six games, more than any other title-winning Chelsea side, and also won the league with the fewest points on 86. It is here, Conte's Chelsea shines.
Chelsea currently have the highest ratio for points per game (2.6) and games won (84 per cent). If the Blues maintained those ratios, they would surpass Mourinho's 95 points during 2004/05 and almost certainly claim the Premier League crown.
Overall, based on 17 of the stats we analysed, Conte's Chelsea rank top for performance, followed by Mourinho's 2004/05 side, the Portuguese's 2005/06 title winners, Ancelotti's class of 2009/10 and lastly Mourinho's most recent winners in 2014/15.
Watch Tottenham v Chelsea live on Sky Sports 1 from 7.30pm on Wednesday
