Thierry Henry names the 'step' Chelsea must take to become Premier League title contenders

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Chelsea are on fire in the Premier League this season but they are still missing one element in their pursuit of the title.

Enzo Maresca’s side have been firing at all cylinders this season, providing a real pursuit of the Premier League title behind Liverpool.

Chelsea are now eight games unbeaten in the league after coming off the back of a reasonable 2-1 victory against Brentford.

Maresca has insisted his side ‘are not ready’ to be involved in a title race – via BBC Sport – but they’ve proven everything but that in the opening 16 games.

However, they are lacking one key factor which every good title-chasing team needs.

Thierry Henry not convinced by Chelsea until they ‘beat a big team’

Thierry Henry is someone who is not yet convinced by this Chelsea side’s ability to compete for the title and labelled one reason why.

Speaking on SkySports, the former Arsenal forward detailed that the Blues must secure a major victory against a team that will be in and around the title race.

“We’ve seen Leicester do it, we’ve seen teams before where no one expected them to do it (win the title) but one thing they are still yet to do, is beat a team in and around them.

“Did they beat Liverpool or Arsenal? They still didn’t beat a big team, yes they came back against Tottenham, but show me you can beat Liverpool, show me you can beat (Manchester) City and show me you can beat Arsenal.

“Then you will be like, hang on a minute? At some stage, they need to take that step.”

Jamie Carragher believes Everton fixture for Chelsea is ‘really important’

Chelsea have got fairly kind fixtures to look forward to and don’t face a ‘big team’ until the end of January when they head to Man City.

Jamie Carragher believes a lot rides on their away trip to Goodison Park and isn’t too sure about the Blues’ defence, with Carragher having said Robert Sanchez will stop Maresca from winning the title.

“I think next weekend’s game is really important, now you might say, Chelsea are at the top of the league and Everton are near the bottom, but when I look at the things worry me about Chelsea it’s their defence.

“Goodison Park is the type of place where that can show up, now if you go to Goodison, keep a clean sheet and win, you think ‘oh okay’.

“It’s a result where, it’s a team at the bottom but you know it’s a tough place to go.”

As it stands you wouldn’t count out Chelsea gaining maximum points from their next six games, but they could quite easily find a stumbling block along the way.

Defence has been an area of slight concern for Maresca having proved to be a weakness so far this campaign.

It’s a huge test for Maresca’s Chelsea over the Christmas period and the Everton clash could prove to be pivotal in their season.