Preview: Chelsea vs Hull City - prediction, team news, lineups

Seeking to preserve their unbeaten start in the Premier League, newly-promoted Hull City travel to Stamford Bridge to test their mettle against Chelsea on Saturday afternoon.

These two teams butt heads in the top flight for the first time since January 2017 when goals from Diego Costa and Garry Cahill sealed a 2-0 home win for the Blues en route to lifting the title later that season.

Match preview

Xabi Alonso tasted his first defeat as Chelsea manager last weekend as his side fell to a 2-1 loss to Premier League champions Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, and the Blues looked on course to suffer another defeat against Leeds United in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

The West Londoners were booed off by the Stamford Bridge faithful as they entered the interval two goals down, but substitutes Morgan Rogers, Cole Palmer and Pedro Neto inspired a remarkable turnaround, helping the hosts claim an emphatic 6-3 victory and progress to the fourth round.

Retaining their place in the EFL Cup and preserving their hopes of lifting silverware in a campaign without European football is important for Chelsea, who also have aspirations of mounting a serious challenge for the Premier League title after eight years without the top-flight trophy in their possession.

Sitting fourth in the table and three points behind perfect duo Man City and Arsenal, Chelsea will be confident of success on Saturday, as they have never lost in 10 Premier League encounters with Hull (W8 D2), only ever facing Portsmouth on more occasions without losing in the division (14).

However, the Blues have failed to win any of their last four Premier League home games against newly-promoted teams (D3 L1), while their defensive frailties remain a cause for concern, as they are without a clean sheet in 19 top-flight fixtures, conceding seven goals across their opening three this term.

Hull have undoubtedly been the surprise package of the new Premier League season and are remarkably the only team across the top-four tiers of English football who are yet to concede a single league goal.

The Tigers have collected seven points from their opening three games, with back-to-back wins over Man United (2-0) and Coventry (1-0) followed by a goalless stalemate with Aston Villa last weekend.

Man City in 2015-16 were the last Premier League team to keep four consecutive clean sheets at the start of a new campaign, while no promoted side has ever achieved this in top-flight history.

Hull’s unbeaten start across all competitions came to an end on Tuesday, though, as a much-changed Tigers outfit were narrowly beaten 1-0 away against Sunderland in the EFL Cup third round, conceding from a second-half counter-attack in a tight contest with minimal clear-cut chances.

Head coach Sergej Jakirovic is now faced with the "very big problem" of integrating a massive wave of talent. Having overseen a frantic summer window that yielded 18 new signings, the Bosnian must quickly get players who missed pre-season up to speed while simultaneously keeping everyone in his bloated 34-man squad happy in the coming months.

Hull will also endeavour to claim their first-ever league victory away against Chelsea, having never won in 18 visits to the blue side of West London (D3 L15), the most the Tigers have faced any opponent on the road in any of the top-four divisions without winning.

Chelsea Premier League form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Hull City Premier League form:

Hull City form (all competitions):

Team News

Chelsea pair Jordan Henderson (wrist) and Emmanuel Emegha (muscle) are still recovering from injuries, while Moises Caicedo and Marco Palestra remain doubtful with unspecified issues.

Alonso has allayed injury fears over Levi Colwill following the midweek win over Leeds, and the defender is expected to battle with Maxence Lacroix, Josh Acheampong and Wesley Fofana for a start in the back three.

After registering four assists as a second-half substitute against Leeds, Morgan Rogers is expected to earn a recall in attack. Chelsea’s club-record signing has either scored (two) or assisted (one) in all three of his top-flight appearances for the Blues.

Cole Palmer is also expected to start after netting a brace in the EFL Cup. The playmaker has 15 goal involvements in as many Premier League matches for Chelsea against newly-promoted teams (nine goals, six assists) and is set to provide support for central striker Joao Pedro.

As for Hull, Ilyas Ansah (back), Jack Butland (shoulder), Elliot Matazo (knee), Darko Gyabi (thigh), Charlie Hughes and Hidemasa Morita (both groin) all remain sidelined with injuries, while Tim Iroegbunam (groin), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (calf) and Paddy McNair (foot) will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

For the fourth time this season, Nobel Mendy was substituted in midweek, coming off at half time against Sunderland, but Jakirovic allayed any injury fears by confirming post-match that his withdrawal was planned. The summer signing could therefore start alongside Semi Ajayi and John Egan in the back three.

Oscar Zambrano has recovered from a hamstring issue, but a start in midfield against Chelsea is considered unlikely, with Matt Crooks, Lucas Gourna-Douath, Christos Mouzakitis and Jens Hjerto-Dahl all battling for a place alongside Regan Slater.

Oli McBurnie could make his 100th Premier League appearance in this match. The striker is yet to score this term, but he has made 258 high-intensity pressures in the top flight, a whopping 74 more than any other player in the division.

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Martinez; Acheampong, Lacroix, Colwill; Neto, James, Lavia, Hato; Rogers, Palmer; Pedro

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Tzolakis; Ajayi, Egan, Mendy; Coyle, Slater, Gourna-Douath, Giles; Belloumi, Stroud; McBurnie

We say: Chelsea 2-1 Hull City

Jakirovic’s fearless Hull side will back their rock-solid backline to frustrate Chelsea following an exceptional, clean-sheet-heavy start to the campaign, but extending this defensive run at Stamford Bridge could prove challenging.

Boasting a historically dominant home record in this fixture, a free-scoring Chelsea side should have enough firepower to tip the scales in their favour and secure maximum points from a close contest.

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