Preview: Chelsea v Hull City

Posted Saturday, January 21, 2017 by Foxsports.com

Chelsea will look to maintain their lead at the top of the Premier League standings when they host relegation-threatened Hull City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Premier League
Date: 22 January 2017
Match Day 22
Kick-off: 18H30 (GMT+2)
Venue: Stamford Bridge

Referee: Neil Swarbrick
Assistants: S Ledger, M Wilkes
Fourth official: G Scott

Head-to-head summary:

TEAM MATCHES WIN DRAW LOSS
Chelsea 9 7 2 0
Hull City 9 0 2 7

Previous encounter:

Hull City 0-2 Chelsea 1/10/16 (Premier League)

Chelsea goalscorers: Willian (61′), Diego Costa (67′)

Players to watch:

The Blues’ dominant run in the league has featured superb performances from polarising striker Diego Costa who has bagged 14 goals in 21 appearances, and is level at the top scorers list with Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alexis Sanchez. He was, however, left out of manager Antonio Conte’s squad last week after a reported row at the training ground, but is expected to make his return. After being recalled from a loan spell, Victor Moses has also been a big part of Chelsea’s fine season so far.

The Tigers have been looking towards winger Robert Snodgrass for goals this term, as he has contributed with nine, but he is a doubt for the trip, which means they may need the likes of Adama Diomande and Abel Hernandez to pack their scoring boots.

Great to see Abel Hernández back amongst the goals, although we're not too sure about the dance moves! pic.twitter.com/QerxhLdLlX

— Hull City (@HullCity) January 18, 2017

Team form and manager quotes:

Chelsea have been in excellent form over the last few months and only lost once in their last 13 games in all competitions; a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham earlier in January. They come into this clash on the back of a comfortable 3-0 win over Leicester City.

When asked about the availability of Costa, Conte told the press: “I don’t see any problem with our team. I heard a lot of speculation about Diego, but now the most important thing is he trained with us this week, he does not have any pain in his back and can play. He is an important player for us and we all know this. When he stays in good form he has always played with me.

Meanwhile, Hull will be hoping they can build on their recent success, after winning two of their last three games, most recently a 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. The other win was a 2-0 result against Swansea City in the FA Cup third round.

New Tigers boss Marco Silva told the press ahead of the game: “It will be difficult but we will go there and look to compete. We will need to produce a good team performance. We will have to show our organisation.”

Team news:

Chelsea have a virtually full strength squad from which to pick their starting XI. A major talking point will be whether or not Costa is reinstated in the team, after recovering from a reported back problem.

Hull may have to do without the services of star player Robert Snodgrass due to a muscle injury, while the rest of the squad should be available with David Meyler making his return to training on Friday.