I was saying the same until very recently — Stones and De Bruyne back — but when I now read that we can expect him in February, or even March, rather than January, I'm not at all sure that our rivals won't be pretty far away by that point.
As it is, I see that very soon Liverpool have got Sheffield United (drubbing nailed on), Arsenal have got Luton (drubbing nailed on), and we've got Aston Villa — we could win it, but it's going to be tricky. Villa's home record is very different to their away one. Look, if we're on it, we beat anyone whatsoever. But who in all honesty can really pretend that we're on it, at present?