Chelsea will look to return to winning ways when they host Hull City at Stamford Bridge today with both sides making strong starts to the Premier League season.
Fourth-placed Chelsea against a Hull City side sitting third after three matches. While the Blues have collected six points, Hull have seven and are yet to concede a league goal this season.
Chelsea will, however, take confidence from their remarkable record against Hull. The London side have won their last nine meetings in all competitions, while Hull have never won in 18 league visits to Stamford Bridge.
The Blues began the season with victories over Fulham and Brighton before suffering a 2-1 defeat away to Arsenal last weekend. They will now be hoping to respond in front of their home supporters.
Chelsea have also shown considerable attacking strength, scoring eight goals in their opening three league matches. Their only home league game so far ended in a 4-3 victory over Brighton.
João Pedro and Morgan Rogers have been among Chelsea’s notable attacking performers, contributing goals and assists during the opening weeks of the campaign.
Chelsea have no reported injury concerns ahead of the match, leaving them with a fully available squad as they attempt to maintain their strong start and close the gap on the teams above them.
Hull, meanwhile, have emerged as one of the early surprises of the campaign. They have taken seven points from their opening three matches and, most impressively, have kept three consecutive clean sheets.
Their league campaign includes a 2-0 victory over Manchester United and a narrow 1-0 win over Coventry. Although Sunderland eliminated them from the League Cup, their league form remains unbeaten.
Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has played every minute of Hull’s league campaign and has been instrumental in their perfect defensive record.
Hull’s organised defence will face its biggest test yet against a Chelsea attack that has already scored eight times. The visitors will need another disciplined performance if they are to extend their unbeaten league start and end Chelsea’s dominance in this fixture.
History, however, strongly favours the hosts. Chelsea have won each of their last nine meetings with Hull and remain unbeaten in 18 league encounters at Stamford Bridge.
With Chelsea’s attacking quality and home advantage set against Hull’s impressive defensive record, the match could provide an intriguing contest between the hosts’ firepower and the visitors’ resilience.
Chelsea will be expected to start aggressively as they seek to regain momentum after the defeat to Arsenal, with an early lead likely to be central to their approach.
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