Chelsea FC: 11 Reasons the Blues Still Have a Shot at the Premiership

For now, at least, Chelsea are back.

Thanks to their 2-1 win over league-leading Manchester City on Monday, Andre Villas-Boas and company are only seven points from the top of the English Premier League table.

So can they win the title?

Anything is possible, of course, and you could probably make a list of 11 reasons Chelsea won't win the title.

But we're not drinking the haterade. If you ask us, Chelsea's resurgence is a great story.

That's why we're giving you 11 reasons Chelsea can still win the title.

Hey, it could happen.

Behind the creepy mask, Petr Cech is a great keeper.

Still only 29, Cech has been one of the game's top keepers since moving to Chelsea from Rennes in 2004. He has loads of experience from the club's title runs in the 2004-05, 2005-06 and 2009-10 seasons.

Cech was named Best European Goalkeeper by UEFA in 2005, 2007 and 2010, and top keeper in the UEFA Club Football Awards for the 2004-05, 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

He's still got it, even after the horrific injury (how about the nonchalant reaction of Mike Riley? Cech had just suffered a skull fracture!) that gave him the mask.

And that means Chelsea always have a great foundation.

Every club goes through a crisis at some point during the season.

Chelsea already went through a couple.

First, John Terry became embroiled in a racism controversy. He still hasn't been punished (if in fact he was even guilty), but the storm has passed.

Second, Chelsea lost three of four league matches between Oct. 23 and Nov. 20—at QPR, home to Arsenal and home to Liverpool.

After all that, they're still in third place, seven points from the top of the table.

It could be much worse.

Heading into the holidays, the fixture list is about to present Chelsea with an opportunity to make up ground.

Here's how their schedule looks until Jan. 2.

• Dec. 17, at Wigan Athletic
• Dec. 22, at Tottenham Hotspur
• Dec. 26, home to Fulham
• Dec. 31, home to Aston Villa
• Jan. 2, at Wolverhampton Wanderers

In that five-match stretch, the trip to White Hart Lane on Dec. 22 is clearly the most difficult. It's not unrealistic to think Chelsea could win the other four.

After the New Year, Chelsea will be building up to a home game against Manchester United. Here's their schedule between the matches against Wolves and United.

• Jan. 14, home to Sunderland
• Jan. 21 at Norwich
• Jan. 31 at Swansea

The trips to Norwich and Swansea will be tricky but manageable. Sunderland could be a different team under new coach Martin O'Neill, but Chelsea will still expect to beat them, especially at home.

Between now and the end of January, Chelsea could get on a heck of a run.

Chelsea didn't exactly light up the transfer market in August.

What are the chances Roman Abramovich will be so reserved with his money two transfer windows in a row?

We'd say somewhere between unlikely and impossible.

Look for Chelsea to be active in the transfer market when the window reopens in January.

Nearly a year after his £50 million move from Liverpool to Chelsea, Fernando Torres has done little to justify that fee.

But what if he starts playing like we all know he can?

It would be like a new signing for Chelsea, who would suddenly have a world-class striker.

As Chelsea showed Monday night, Manchester City simply can't keep up their pace.

It's impossible.

Even after the loss, City's stats are impressive: 12 wins, two draws, one loss, 49 goals scored, 15 conceded and 38 points.

Roberto Mancini's men have a 100 percent record at home (seven wins in seven matches) and have outscored their opponents, 25-11, on their travels.

It just can't continue, even with a squad that deep.

Or can it?

Remember that stuff about clubs going through a crisis once a season?

Manchester United are going through theirs now.

Sir Alex Ferguson's team were dumped from the Champions League last week, and that was followed quickly by the news that influential central defender Nemanja Vidic would miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.

Vidic joined a crowded injury list. Chicharito could miss a month with an ankle injury, and Darren Fletcher is out indefinitely with a bizarre bowel condition. Also set to miss time are Anderson, Dimitar Berbatov, Tom Cleverley, Fabio, Rafael and Michael Owen.

United are second in the table, two points behind City. But they could struggle to maintain their position.

City and United are the only teams ahead of Chelsea. Tottenham are level on 31 points.

Chelsea and Spurs haven't played this season. Their first match is scheduled for Dec. 22 at White Hart Lane. The return date is March 24 at Stamford Bridge.

Win both, and that's another contender out of the way.

In addition to the two games with Spurs, Chelsea still have one more crack at Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal.

After playing those teams once each, Chelsea picked up a lousy four points.

That's bad, but the second half of the season can still serve as an opportunity to take points off the Big Six.

Juan Mata was an excellent addition to the team in August.

The little Spaniard can influence a game from the midfield, as he's showed all season. At his best, he can inspire Chelsea to play beautiful football. At his worst, he can be muscled out of a game.

If Mata can maintain excellent form for an extended period, Chelsea could make a run.

When Chelsea went through their rough patch, the media lined up to take potshots at first-year manager Andre Villas-Boas.

They were premature.

Villas-Boas is a great manager. Bad managers don't win trebles at Porto.

Remember, this is still Villas-Boas' first season. It's way too early to say he'll be a failure at Chelsea.

But as tough as his first season has been at times, Villas-Boas could still win a title at the end of it.