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Premier League Preview: Hull City - Chelsea
Blues can go four points clear with a KC victory...
| Bet: | Returns: | Napoli £25.50 | Draw £31.50 | Chelsea £25.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Napoli £25.00 | Draw £32.00 | Chelsea £26.20 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Napoli £25.00 | Draw £32.50 | Chelsea £27.50 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Napoli £25.00 | Draw £32.00 | Chelsea £28.80 |
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| Bet: | Returns: | Napoli £24.50 | Draw £32.00 | Chelsea £26.50 |
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1 Feb 2010 00:35:00
By Richard Parry
Kick-Off: Tuesday, February 2, 19:45 GMT.
The KC Stadium, Hull.
Chelsea travel to the KC Stadium with the opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points, while a win for Hull City would see the home side lifted out of the relegation zone and into 14th place.
The Tigers could only muster a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend, after letting a 2-1 lead slip at home.
Chelsea’s trip to Burnley proved a trickier affair than most predicted, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side relying on an 82nd-minute header from their troubled captain John Terry to secure all three points, and Phil Brown’s men will fancy their chances should the visitors offer a similar performance on Tuesday.
Ancelotti will remember the Blues' last meeting with the Tigers fondly, with the 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season handing the Italian his first league victory as Chelsea manager.
History favours the away team in this fixture. Out of the 39 meetings between these two clubs, Hull have only mustered four victories. Nevertheless, all of those wins have been home successes.
Nevertheless, you have to go back to 1988 for Hull’s last victory over the Londoners, a 3-0 romp at Boothferry Park. Their recent record against the Blues makes concerned reading for the home faithful, as Chelsea have bagged 15 goals in their last five meetings.
FORM
Hull City
30 Jan: Hull City 2-2 Wolves [Premier League]
23 Jan: Manchester United 4-0 Hull City [Premier League]
16 Jan: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Hull City [Premier League]
2 Jan: Wigan Athletic 4-1 Hull City [FA Cup]
29 Dec: Bolton 2-2 Hull City [Premier League]
Chelsea
30 Jan: Burnley 1-2 Chelsea [Premier League]
27 Jan: Chelsea 3-0 Birmingham [Premier League]
23 Jan: Preston North End 0-2 Chelsea [FA Cup]
16 Jan: Chelsea 7-2 Sunderland [Premier League]
3 Jan: Chelsea 5-0 Watford [FA Cup]
TEAM NEWS
Hull City
Phil Brown will be pleased to see that the majority of his sidelined players are nearing a return, but the visit of the league leaders will come too soon for his healing absentees.
Algerian midfielder Kamel Ghilas (thigh) and Kamil Zayatte (ankle) will be unavailable for selection, whilst Jimmy Bullard misses out with the inspirational midfielder yet to fully recover from his knee ligament injury.
Starting XI from last league match [Wolves]: Myhil, Dawson, Gardner, McShane, Mendy, Mouyokolo, Hunt, Boateng, Carney, Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti travels to the KC with three absentees from his playing staff.
Michael Essien is ruled out of contention after suffering a knee ligament injury while on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ghana. Full-backs Juliano Belletti (calf) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) are also unavailable for the league leaders.
Having been spared from the weekend fixture against Burnley, Didier Drogba could feature for Chelsea having returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Starting XI from last league match [Burnley]: Cech, Ivanovic, A. Cole, Terry, Alex, Lampard, J. Cole, Balack, Malouda, Zhirkov, Anelka.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hull City – Stephen Hunt
Hull’s Irish midfielder is beginning to recapture the form which he first displayed upon signing for the club at the start of the season, and with a considerable amount of history between himself and the visitors, the former Reading man will be highly charged come kick-off.
As well as bagging himself a penalty during Hull’s last Premier League outing (2-2 Wolves), Hunt netted the Tigers’ solitary goal during the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season.
With Chelsea shot-stopper Petr Cech still somewhat off-colour, Hunt’s delivery from set pieces could be crucial for Hull on Tuesday, so expect the Irishman to have an impact on the match.
Also, do not be surprised to see him involved in some of the heavier challenges along the way.
Chelsea – Florent Malouda
The France international has been in impressive form so far this season, contributing to his side’s successful league campaign with five goals and four assists in 18 appearances.
The winger’s trickery and pace could wreak havoc amongst the City defence should he be given the nod by Ancelotti, with Chelsea’s No.15 seemingly blossoming under the Italian’s headship.
As displayed most impressively by Manchester United at Old Trafford less than a fortnight ago, the Tigers are susceptible on the counterattack, and Malouda’s blistering pace could prove to be an invaluable asset to Chelsea at the KC Stadium.
PREDICTION
Hull will battle hard throughout, and Phil Brown will have his charges motivated to the maximum, but Chelsea will have too much for the home side on Tuesday.
Hull City 1-3 Chelsea
The KC Stadium, Hull.
Chelsea travel to the KC Stadium with the opportunity to increase their lead at the top of the Premier League to four points, while a win for Hull City would see the home side lifted out of the relegation zone and into 14th place.
The Tigers could only muster a 2-2 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend, after letting a 2-1 lead slip at home.
Chelsea’s trip to Burnley proved a trickier affair than most predicted, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side relying on an 82nd-minute header from their troubled captain John Terry to secure all three points, and Phil Brown’s men will fancy their chances should the visitors offer a similar performance on Tuesday.
Ancelotti will remember the Blues' last meeting with the Tigers fondly, with the 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the season handing the Italian his first league victory as Chelsea manager.
History favours the away team in this fixture. Out of the 39 meetings between these two clubs, Hull have only mustered four victories. Nevertheless, all of those wins have been home successes.
Nevertheless, you have to go back to 1988 for Hull’s last victory over the Londoners, a 3-0 romp at Boothferry Park. Their recent record against the Blues makes concerned reading for the home faithful, as Chelsea have bagged 15 goals in their last five meetings.
FORM
Hull City
30 Jan: Hull City 2-2 Wolves [Premier League]
23 Jan: Manchester United 4-0 Hull City [Premier League]
16 Jan: Tottenham Hotspur 0-0 Hull City [Premier League]
2 Jan: Wigan Athletic 4-1 Hull City [FA Cup]
29 Dec: Bolton 2-2 Hull City [Premier League]
Chelsea
30 Jan: Burnley 1-2 Chelsea [Premier League]
27 Jan: Chelsea 3-0 Birmingham [Premier League]
23 Jan: Preston North End 0-2 Chelsea [FA Cup]
16 Jan: Chelsea 7-2 Sunderland [Premier League]
3 Jan: Chelsea 5-0 Watford [FA Cup]
TEAM NEWS
Hull City
Phil Brown will be pleased to see that the majority of his sidelined players are nearing a return, but the visit of the league leaders will come too soon for his healing absentees.
Algerian midfielder Kamel Ghilas (thigh) and Kamil Zayatte (ankle) will be unavailable for selection, whilst Jimmy Bullard misses out with the inspirational midfielder yet to fully recover from his knee ligament injury.
Starting XI from last league match [Wolves]: Myhil, Dawson, Gardner, McShane, Mendy, Mouyokolo, Hunt, Boateng, Carney, Altidore, Vennegoor of Hesselink.
Chelsea
Carlo Ancelotti travels to the KC with three absentees from his playing staff.
Michael Essien is ruled out of contention after suffering a knee ligament injury while on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Ghana. Full-backs Juliano Belletti (calf) and Jose Bosingwa (knee) are also unavailable for the league leaders.
Having been spared from the weekend fixture against Burnley, Didier Drogba could feature for Chelsea having returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Starting XI from last league match [Burnley]: Cech, Ivanovic, A. Cole, Terry, Alex, Lampard, J. Cole, Balack, Malouda, Zhirkov, Anelka.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Hull City – Stephen Hunt
Hull’s Irish midfielder is beginning to recapture the form which he first displayed upon signing for the club at the start of the season, and with a considerable amount of history between himself and the visitors, the former Reading man will be highly charged come kick-off.
As well as bagging himself a penalty during Hull’s last Premier League outing (2-2 Wolves), Hunt netted the Tigers’ solitary goal during the 2-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge earlier in the season.
With Chelsea shot-stopper Petr Cech still somewhat off-colour, Hunt’s delivery from set pieces could be crucial for Hull on Tuesday, so expect the Irishman to have an impact on the match.
Also, do not be surprised to see him involved in some of the heavier challenges along the way.
Chelsea – Florent Malouda
The France international has been in impressive form so far this season, contributing to his side’s successful league campaign with five goals and four assists in 18 appearances.
The winger’s trickery and pace could wreak havoc amongst the City defence should he be given the nod by Ancelotti, with Chelsea’s No.15 seemingly blossoming under the Italian’s headship.
As displayed most impressively by Manchester United at Old Trafford less than a fortnight ago, the Tigers are susceptible on the counterattack, and Malouda’s blistering pace could prove to be an invaluable asset to Chelsea at the KC Stadium.
PREDICTION
Hull will battle hard throughout, and Phil Brown will have his charges motivated to the maximum, but Chelsea will have too much for the home side on Tuesday.
Hull City 1-3 Chelsea
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