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

With little time to analyse what went wrong against Leeds United, Liam Rosenior takes his Chelsea team to face old club Hull City in Friday’s FA Cup fourth round at the MKM Stadium.

Fewer than two years have passed since Rosenior was let go by the Tigers in May 2024, but he seeks a positive outcome on his return as the Blues aim to avoid another exit at this stage after last year’s defeat by Brighton & Hove Albion.

Match preview

Without success against Friday’s visitors since 1988, Hull host their London opponents with the historical disadvantage of having failed to claim any positive result in nearly 38 years.

That 3-0 triumph came in the second division, but the subsequent 16 matches have brought minimal joy for the Tigers, who have avoided defeat in only two of those encounters.

Sergej Jakirovic's team enter Friday’s FA Cup tie on an eight-match losing run against Chelsea, including consecutive domestic cup exits to the capital club in February 2018 and January 2020, and the playoff-chasing Championship side now look to stun their former boss on his return to the MKM Stadium.

While they may have relished hosting the Blues when the draw was made, having claimed four consecutive victories after beating Blackburn Rovers on penalties, their last two home results — a goalless encounter with Watford and a 3-2 defeat by Bristol City — mean the Tigers have less momentum heading into their Chelsea tie than they might have liked.

Still, the 2014 finalists hope to make the most of their first run to the competition’s fourth round since 2020 — when they were beaten at this stage by Friday’s opponents — as they strive to reach the fifth round for the first time since progressing in 2018.

Looking to stop the Championship outfit are a Chelsea side now managed by former Hull boss Rosenior, who nearly guided the Tigers to the post-regular-season playoffs in 2023-24.

Unsuccessful on that occasion, the former right-back was dismissed in May 2024, though his managerial career has since grown by leaps and bounds, with the Englishman enjoying a successful spell at Strasbourg before landing the role in West London.

Despite the setback of a 2-2 league draw with Leeds on Tuesday, Rosenior’s time in charge of the Blues has, for the most part, been encouraging, albeit with a few doubts about their performances, and the capital club have secured seven wins from 10 matches across all competitions heading into their FA Cup tie.

The Londoners travel to the MKM with last year’s failure at this stage likely lingering at the back of their minds, after their 2-1 defeat to Brighton at the Amex continued their mostly underwhelming record in the oldest cup competition.

Since reaching three consecutive finals between 2020 and 2022, Chelsea have been eliminated in the third and fourth rounds by Manchester City and Brighton respectively, either side of advancing to the last four in the 2023-24 season, and a similar run to 2024 would undeniably please the club’s supporters.

First, they must avoid consecutive exits at this stage, as Rosenior aims to leave his old stomping ground with a victory to continue his fine start to life with the capital club.

Hull City FA Cup form:

Hull City form (all competitions):

Chelsea FA Cup form:

Chelsea form (all competitions):

Team News

Semi Ajayi has not played since representing Nigeria at AFCON 2025 due to a hamstring injury, while Mohamed Belloumi (hamstring), Cody Drameh (thigh), Darko Gyabi (groin), Matts Crooks (hamstring) and long-term absentee Eliot Matazo (knee) are sidelined.

Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt have scored 12 and 10 Championship goals respectively, underlining their status as the Tigers’ leading attacking threats.

Also carrying a threat is Ryan Giles from left-back, whose eight league assists are bettered only by West Bromwich Albion’s Michael Johnston in the second tier, and he will aim to hurt Chelsea with his forward forays.

The Blues have a few injury doubts and absentees heading into Friday: Marc Cucurella (hamstring) was withdrawn at the interval against Leeds on Tuesday and could now join Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens (thigh) on the treatment table.

While Romeo Lavia is back in team training after a thigh injury, the midfielder is unlikely to be rushed back into competitive action; however, the trio of Reece James (illness), Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo (hamstring) will be assessed ahead of possible inclusion at Hull.

With Rosenior likely to rotate after Tuesday’s league game, Liam Delap, Alejandro Garnacho, Jorrel Hato, Benoit Badiashile and Wesley Fofana could feature from the off, while Mamadou Sarr could make his second competitive Blues appearance since the Club World Cup group stage match against Esperance.

Hull City possible starting lineup:

Pandur; McNair, Egan, Hughes; Coyle, Slater, Lundstram, Giles; Gelhardt; Joseph, McBurnie

Chelsea possible starting lineup:

Sanchez; Acheampong, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato; Caicedo, Santos; Neto, Estevao, Garnacho; Delap