Chelsea have not even reached the halfway point of the season and already there appear to be few obstacles in their path to a fourth Premier League crown in a decade.

Title rivals have been dropping away in their droves, with only a Sergio Aguero inspired Manchester City still looming large in the rear view mirror.

Obviously a six point gap is more than surmountable, although Chelsea's 14-game unbeaten start to the campaign has led some to suggest even the defending champions should just throw in the towel.

Weaknesses do seem few and far between among the ranks at Stamford Bridge, however fatigue could now play a part.

Manager Jose Mourinho has a large squad at his disposal, but has been consistently playing the same players.

A magnificent seven have started every League match - Thibaut Courtois, Branislav Ivanovic, John Terry, Gary Cahill, Cesc Fabregas, Eden Hazard and Nemanja Matic.

Given they have also featured prominently in the Champions League too, a lot of miles have been clocked up by the men setting the early pace.

The stat will definitely change at Newcastle tomorrow because Matic is suspended, but there have just been a few signs in the past week that tiredness could be setting in.

Their worst performance of the season came in the laboured goal-less draw at Sunderland. Tottenham also looked much fresher and sharper in the first quarter of an hour on Wednesday night before Eden Hazard eased the tension at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea v Tottenham: Player Ratings 23 show all Chelsea v Tottenham: Player Ratings 1/23 Thibaut Courtois: 6 Faced just one shot on target but was beaten all ends up by Kane's early header - thankfully for the Chelsea keeper the ball rebounded off the crossbar. Looked solid enough. Getty 2/23 Branislav Ivanovic: 7 As good a right back as can be found in the Premier League, Ivanovic was never tested defensively by Lamela and allowed as much room as he wanted to burst forward. 3/23 Gary Cahill: 5 Substituted at half-time, suffered a clash of heads with Jan Vertonghen early on that seemed to affect him - lost the ball in a dangerous position to Harry Kane but breathed a sigh of relief when the Spurs striker fired wide with the score still 0-0. Getty 4/23 John Terry: 8 A fine performance from the Chelsea skipper, won all of his personal battles and while Cahill and later Zouma struggled to contain Kane, Terry never had that problem. 5/23 Cesar Azpilicueta: 7 The best left-back in England is really a right back. The Spaniard was only bested once by Lennon, and provided a smart assist for Remy's third goal. GETTY 6/23 Cesc Fabregas: 8 Another beautifully measured performance from the Spanish maestro, bar the opening 10 minutes when Spurs started like a freight train Fabregas was never not in control of this game. Getty 7/23 Nemanja Matic: 8 The giant Serbian was a man playing against the boys of the Spurs midfield. Supremely strong in and out of possession, alongside Fabregas he has formed the best midfield partnership in the Premier League and the real source of Chelsea's dominance this season. Getty 8/23 Willian: 7 Didn't stop running for 90 minutes, the Brazilian may have had a goal of his own but for poor shooting when in good positions. He didn't give Ben Davies a moment's peace. Getty 9/23 Oscar: 8 Seems to be growing into his role as Chelsea's No 10 every week, Mason and Bentaleb couldn't get near the Brazilian. Perfect pass for the Drogba goal and showed an impressive willingness to work, as ever, throughout the 90 minutes. Getty 10/23 Eden Hazard: 8 Tortured Vlad Chiriches every time he touched the ball. When Spurs were on top in the opening stages the Belgian was the only Chelsea player taking the fight to the away side. Scored a brilliant goal and continued to relieve pressure with his brilliant dribbling skills. Getty 11/23 Didier Drogba: 8 Not always in the game but it didn't matter, the veteran striker proved his status as a match winner. He made two crucial touches, holding off Fazio to play a perfect one-two with Hazard for the first goal and finishing his own chance to put the Blues two up. Getty 12/23 Loic Remy: 7 His goal was as much down to poor defending as it was to Remy's pace and desire, but once he had got in front of Vertonghen the French striker showed great poise, calmly turning his defender and slotting the ball home. Getty 13/23 Hugo Lloris: 4 Horrendous mistake that arguably cost Spurs the game - the last thing the away side needed was to concede so soon after the first. Apart from that Lloris didn't put a foot wrong but on such small details are games decided. Getty 14/23 Vlad Chiriches: 4 The Romanian, plainly not a right-back, will have nightmares about Eden Hazard. Never got to grips with the winger and was left completely flat-footed for the opening goal. 15/23 Federico Fazio: 6 For most of the game stood up well to the physical challenge of Drogba, winning his fair share of battles with the Ivorian. But crucially allowed Drogba to lay the ball into Hazard's path for the first goal. Getty 16/23 Jan Vertonghen: 5 As above, Vertonghen was good for large swathes of the game but guilty of one crucial error - this time allowing Remy to first run past and then turn inside him. Getty 17/23 Ben Davies: 6 Offered very little going forward and defensively was overwhelmed by the dual threat of Ivanovic and Willian. Given no protection by Lamela, however. GETTY 18/23 Nabil Bentaleb: 6 Showed some lovely touches and one of the better performers. The Algerian, 20, will be a huge part of Tottenham's future but, as stated above, it was men against boys in midfield. GETTY 19/23 Ryan Mason: 6 Tried his very best and had the legs of Fabregas and Matic in the early going but, despite some neat touches, does not possess anywhere close to the quality of his Chelsea counterpart and was eventually overran. Getty 20/23 Aaron Lennon: 5 Started brightly, producing a great cross for the Kane header that cannoned back off the cross bar, but apart from that one moment failed to get into the game. Getty 21/23 Christian Eriksen: 5 The Dane clearly possesses supreme talent and skill but he failed to show it often enough. Well marshalled by Matic, Eriksen never made a mark on the game. Getty 22/23 Erik Lamela: 3 Utterly anonymous as an attacking player and a liability in defence, failing to offer Ben Davies any protection from the rampaging Ivanovic. May have been a mistake to start the Argentine. GETTY 23/23 Harry Kane: 7 By far Tottenham's best player, Kane showed the same energy and confidence on the ball that has made him a focal point for this team. However, while his header was unlucky, Kane should have scored after nicking the ball from Cahill. Getty 1/23 Thibaut Courtois: 6 Faced just one shot on target but was beaten all ends up by Kane's early header - thankfully for the Chelsea keeper the ball rebounded off the crossbar. Looked solid enough. Getty 2/23 Branislav Ivanovic: 7 As good a right back as can be found in the Premier League, Ivanovic was never tested defensively by Lamela and allowed as much room as he wanted to burst forward. 3/23 Gary Cahill: 5 Substituted at half-time, suffered a clash of heads with Jan Vertonghen early on that seemed to affect him - lost the ball in a dangerous position to Harry Kane but breathed a sigh of relief when the Spurs striker fired wide with the score still 0-0. Getty 4/23 John Terry: 8 A fine performance from the Chelsea skipper, won all of his personal battles and while Cahill and later Zouma struggled to contain Kane, Terry never had that problem. 5/23 Cesar Azpilicueta: 7 The best left-back in England is really a right back. The Spaniard was only bested once by Lennon, and provided a smart assist for Remy's third goal. GETTY 6/23 Cesc Fabregas: 8 Another beautifully measured performance from the Spanish maestro, bar the opening 10 minutes when Spurs started like a freight train Fabregas was never not in control of this game. Getty 7/23 Nemanja Matic: 8 The giant Serbian was a man playing against the boys of the Spurs midfield. Supremely strong in and out of possession, alongside Fabregas he has formed the best midfield partnership in the Premier League and the real source of Chelsea's dominance this season. Getty 8/23 Willian: 7 Didn't stop running for 90 minutes, the Brazilian may have had a goal of his own but for poor shooting when in good positions. He didn't give Ben Davies a moment's peace. Getty 9/23 Oscar: 8 Seems to be growing into his role as Chelsea's No 10 every week, Mason and Bentaleb couldn't get near the Brazilian. Perfect pass for the Drogba goal and showed an impressive willingness to work, as ever, throughout the 90 minutes. Getty 10/23 Eden Hazard: 8 Tortured Vlad Chiriches every time he touched the ball. When Spurs were on top in the opening stages the Belgian was the only Chelsea player taking the fight to the away side. Scored a brilliant goal and continued to relieve pressure with his brilliant dribbling skills. Getty 11/23 Didier Drogba: 8 Not always in the game but it didn't matter, the veteran striker proved his status as a match winner. He made two crucial touches, holding off Fazio to play a perfect one-two with Hazard for the first goal and finishing his own chance to put the Blues two up. Getty 12/23 Loic Remy: 7 His goal was as much down to poor defending as it was to Remy's pace and desire, but once he had got in front of Vertonghen the French striker showed great poise, calmly turning his defender and slotting the ball home. Getty 13/23 Hugo Lloris: 4 Horrendous mistake that arguably cost Spurs the game - the last thing the away side needed was to concede so soon after the first. Apart from that Lloris didn't put a foot wrong but on such small details are games decided. Getty 14/23 Vlad Chiriches: 4 The Romanian, plainly not a right-back, will have nightmares about Eden Hazard. Never got to grips with the winger and was left completely flat-footed for the opening goal. 15/23 Federico Fazio: 6 For most of the game stood up well to the physical challenge of Drogba, winning his fair share of battles with the Ivorian. But crucially allowed Drogba to lay the ball into Hazard's path for the first goal. Getty 16/23 Jan Vertonghen: 5 As above, Vertonghen was good for large swathes of the game but guilty of one crucial error - this time allowing Remy to first run past and then turn inside him. Getty 17/23 Ben Davies: 6 Offered very little going forward and defensively was overwhelmed by the dual threat of Ivanovic and Willian. Given no protection by Lamela, however. GETTY 18/23 Nabil Bentaleb: 6 Showed some lovely touches and one of the better performers. The Algerian, 20, will be a huge part of Tottenham's future but, as stated above, it was men against boys in midfield. GETTY 19/23 Ryan Mason: 6 Tried his very best and had the legs of Fabregas and Matic in the early going but, despite some neat touches, does not possess anywhere close to the quality of his Chelsea counterpart and was eventually overran. Getty 20/23 Aaron Lennon: 5 Started brightly, producing a great cross for the Kane header that cannoned back off the cross bar, but apart from that one moment failed to get into the game. Getty 21/23 Christian Eriksen: 5 The Dane clearly possesses supreme talent and skill but he failed to show it often enough. Well marshalled by Matic, Eriksen never made a mark on the game. Getty 22/23 Erik Lamela: 3 Utterly anonymous as an attacking player and a liability in defence, failing to offer Ben Davies any protection from the rampaging Ivanovic. May have been a mistake to start the Argentine. GETTY 23/23 Harry Kane: 7 By far Tottenham's best player, Kane showed the same energy and confidence on the ball that has made him a focal point for this team. However, while his header was unlucky, Kane should have scored after nicking the ball from Cahill. Getty

Chelsea are currently four games into a hectic schedule of 11 matches in just 41 days which will provide a stern test of their staying power.

However Oscar, who has featured in 19 of Chelsea's 21 outings (all competitions) this term, is confident a lack of stamina won't be an issue.

He told Standard Sport: "All of the players who are playing regularly don't train so much because there are so many games. It is better for us that way.

"We try to do our best during the games and afterwards we just stay calm and try and relax.

"I am not feeling tired. I am feeling good because I play every game. After each match I have a massage and I don't train that much."

A second trip to the north east in the space of eight days will put that theory to the test, particularly as Mourinho has yet to beat Newcastle at St James' Park in four League attempts.

A 2-0 reverse 13 months ago provoked the Chelsea coach into an angry post-mortem in the dressing room. It is something Oscar has never forgotten and is keen to avoid a repeat of, especially with Manchester City starting to apply some pressure from behind.

He added: "I remember what happened. In the first half we played so good, but in the second we didn't and Mourinho was so angry.

"This time we need to play well to win the game and to make sure Mourinho doesn't get that angry with us again!

"We played well against Sunderland but they did very well defensively. Against Newcastle we know it is a very difficult game and need to play at our best to win.

"Are Manchester City looking like our main title threat? Yes, City won (4-1) against Sunderland and they are a big team. But we just need to win our matches and play well, not look at what City are doing."

Mourinho has hinted that he will make more changes to personnel over the next few weeks.

It will give fringe members of the squad more of a chance to shine. For example, John Obi Mikel is expected to replace Matic in midfield against Alan Pardew's side in what will be his first League start.

Other relatively forgotten men like Andre Schurrle, Ramires, Filipe Luis, Kurt Zouma and Loic Remy, who came off the bench to score against Spurs, should also feature more in the next few weeks.

Oscar is in no doubt they're ready to prove their worth and said: "There are some players that haven't been playing as much but they have been training hard.

"This is important. They train hard because they know if they get a chance, they have to show something. Everyone is important for Chelsea, all the players."

Chelsea could be about to find out how vital they really are.