Hull City - Match Preview

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Venue: Chelsea face the newly promoted Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, August 13th at 15:00 UK time.

About The Match: The match comes in the opening week of the Premiere League 2013/14 season. It is Hull’s first game in the PL since May 2010; but more importantly it will be Jose Mourinho’s first time back at the Bridge as Chelsea manager since September 2007.

All the eyes, on Sunday, will be on the Portuguese manager, whose return to the Bridge is likely to create an unbelievable all around atmosphere. The spirits in the Chelsea camp are so high at the moment, that many pundits nominated Jose’s return to be the catalyst that propels the Blues to the title this season. Let’s hope they’re right. But first, the journey of a thousand miles must start with the step of getting three points against Hull.

Opposition Analysis: Hull finished second in the championship last season and consequently got direct promotion to the PL, after a very dramatic last day of the season. But despite that second place finish, Hull struggled for goals throughout the season. Their +9 goal difference was the worst of the top six teams in the championship and their 61 goals in 46 matches were the least among the top 12! Their best scorer was Robert Koren with 9 goals.

But the game against Hull will not be a walk in the park by any means. It is always tough to play against newly promoted teams at the start of the season because, as Jose put it, they’ve just earned promotion and come into the game with winning mentality. They will likely set up for a draw, defend deep and look to frustrate Chelsea.

Hull have also strengthened their squad immensely during the summer with the addition of players with premiere league experience like Huddlestone and Livermore from Tottenham and Dany Graham and Maynor Figueroa from Sunderland and Wigan.

Latest Meetings: The last time we faced Hull at the Bridge goes back to 2009. Chelsea fell behind in the first half to Stephen Hunt tap in and required an inspired brace by Didier Drogba, the second of which in the 94th minute, to collect the 3 points.

Team News: Chelsea are missing Tomas Kalas who got injured prior to the USA tour. David Luiz is also a doubt despite making the bench for Brazil in midweek. Azpilicueta and Moses are also unlikely to feature tomorrow as they are yet to train with the first team due to their involvement with their respective national teams; while Mata, who missed the last preseason game with a knee injury, is expected to be fit for tomorrow.

Hull City, on the other hand, are only missing Quinn with a hamstring injury.

Expected lineups:

Chelsea: Expected to play the usual 4-2-3-1:

Cech

Iva Cahill JT Cole

Ramires Mikel

Mata Oscar Hazard

Ba

Hull: Expected to played a 4-3-3. Their line up from their last preseason match, an impressive 3-0 win over Real Betis, was:

McGregor

Elmohamady, Chester, Davies, Figueroa

Koren, Meyler, Brady

Aluko, Graham, Sagbo

Stats & Facts:

- Chelsea are unbeaten in all of their 4 encounters with Hull City in the PL (2W 2D).

- Hull City last won a competitive fixture against Chelsea in October 1988.

- Chelsea have won more points on the opening day fixtures of the PL than any other team (44 points).

- The Blues have won 12 and lost none of their last 14 PL opening fixtures.

- Fernando Torres scored three goals in two previous encounters with Hull City.

Odds:

According to SkyBet the odds for this match are:

Chelsea win: 1/5 Draw: 11/2 Hull win: 16/1

TV Coverage: The game will be live on SkySports in the UK, FoxSport in the US and Al Jazeera in the Middle East.

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