10 Biggest Questions Surrounding Chelsea's Title Bid

9. How Long Will It Take The World Cup Players To Regain Full Fitness?

With so little time between the end of the World Cup and the start of the new season, every major club is likely to suffer a certain hangover period where a number of their players struggle back to full health following a particularly busy summer. Chelsea will certainly be one of those clubs and there are questions over a number of key players going into tonight's game against Burnley. Andre Schurrle played an essential role in helping Germany claim victory over Argentina in the World Cup final, laying on a beautiful cross for Mario Gotze to claim the winning goal, while Brazilians Oscar, Willian and Ramires enduring a disspiriting end to what was expected to be a triumphant campaign, losing 7-1 in the semi-finals to Germany before crashing to a 3-0 loss to Holland in the third-place playoff. Last season's Player Of The Year, Eden Hazard, and Thibaut Courtois, our new potential first choice goalkeeper, made it to the quarter-finals before being knocked out by Argentina, while John Obi Mikel played every game until Nigeria were knocked out by France in the round of 16. On the plus side, the likes of Azpilicueta, Fabregas, Costa, Torres and Cahill all had decent pre-seasons after Spain and England crashed out in the group stages, but according to The Guardian, no club's players covered more distance at the World Cup than Chelsea's. While the likes of Man City and Arsenal also had players at advanced stages of the World Cup, the determination and desire we've come to expect from Blues players may well work against them in this case if it takes a while before they're ready to get back into action for their club.