Chelsea have failed to win any of their last three league matches and have conceded seven goals in that period.
We are not seeing any of the defensive solidarity and cohesion expected when Antonio Conte arrived and the Chelsea manager is already under pressure after heavy defeats to Liverpool and Arsenal.
Hull’s good start to the season is over and Mike Phelan needs to get them back on track as soon as possible.
They haven’t won any of their last four league games and the last two has seen nine goals conceded.
Keeping 11 men on the pitch at one time seems to be a problem for the Tigers at present and they need to keep their discipline to have any chance of taking points from teams further up the table. Naijabet.com
Chelsea have a very good record against Hull, which Conte will be banking on this Saturday. The Blues have won 10 of the last 12 matches against Hull and haven’t tasted defeat against the Tigers since 1988.
Having said that, neither team are playing well and that record may not help them too much at the weekend.
Team News
Hull – After five straight Premier League matches with the same starting XI, Mike Phelan finally made changes against Liverpool last weekend. It didn’t reap any rewards as they were thrashed 5-1. For the second gameweek in a row they had a player sent off for deliberate handball and they will be without Ahmed Elmohamady as a resuly against Chelsea.
With Brian Lenihan and Moses Odubajo also sidelined, Phelan is short of natural options at right-back. It could be that Sam Clucas is asked to do a job in defence after impressing in a more defensive midfield role this season, despite playing on the wing last season.
Chelsea are incredibly vulnerable at the back at the moment and Phelan could revert to a more offensive formation than the one used against Liverpool in order to try and take advantage of their frailty. It would be brave but it could reap rewards for the home side.
Mike Phelan resisted the temptation to start any of his new signings in their 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend but club record signing Ryan Mason will be pushing for a start ahead of even David Meyler or Sam Clucas.
Hull still have six players in the treatment room and none of those will be back this weekend.
Chelsea – Antonio Conte has some big decisions to make ahead of their trip to Hull on Saturday. Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic have both been awful this season and you’d suspect he’d ideally like to replace both of them in defence.
John Terry has missed their last three matches with an ankle injury and will not return until after the international break. Marcos Alonso could also step in for his full league debut for Chelsea, which would allow Conte to put Cesar Azpilicueta back at right-back.
Cesc Fabregas was rewarded for his hard work with a starting spot against Arsenal but he failed to grasp the opportunity before being subbed off before the hour mark. Oscar could earn back his starting spot against Hull. John Obi Mikel has a small muscular problem and will miss out.
Match Facts
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Chelsea‘s last 6 games (Premier League).
There have been over 2.5 goals scored in Chelsea‘s last 6 games.
Chelsea have scored at least 2 goals in their last 4 matches against Hull in all competitions.
Chelsea have conceded at least 2 goals in their last 3 Premier League match.
NaijaBet Odds
As at this post Hull has 6.52 odd to win the match on NaijaBet while Chelsea has 1.45 odd to win the match also, while the odd to draw the match is 4.45
