The runaway Premier League leaders are, alongside Liverpool, the only title contender who are absent from continental commitments this season. But is this a big reason for their Premier League domination this far?

A direct consequence of Chelsea's mediocre 2015/2016 season, their 10th-place league finish and failure to win any domestic cup is that they are completely absent from European action for the first time in two decades. This season, however, under new manager Antonio Conte the Blues have been flying again and now find themselves sitting 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table after Sunday's draw at Burnley.

With the knockout stages of the Champions League set to resume this week, Chelsea will not be taking any part and, naturally, the debate has been rekindled as to whether the Blues have had a big advantage over their title rivals because of their European absence.