With just 10 Premier League games remaining, Chelsea will certainly like to get back on track against Hull City, who have at times flirted with relegation and still are not out of danger yet.
Following their disappointing Champions League exit, Jose Mourinho's men were held to a 1-1 draw against Southampton at Stamford Bridge last weekend. Whilst this has not had much impact on their position at the pinnacle of this season's Premier League table, the Portuguese tactician nonetheless still continues to insist that the title race is a lot closer than it appears to be.
"It's still a five [horse race] because the distance is still mathematically possible," he stated in his pre-match press conference.
"The reality is the distance between second, third, fourth, fifth is so [small] that the race [is a lot more] open [than it seems]."
Meanwhile, upcoming opponents Hull City are battling for survival. Although they have earned 28 points they are only three ahead of 18th-placed Burnley and will now have to do without striker Nikica Jelavic as the former Croatian international is set to miss the rest of the season following a knee operation. Nonetheless, coach Steve Bruce may be able to welcome back a host of injured players, including Mohamed Diame, James Chester, Liam Rosenior, and possibly Robbie Brady for the upcoming clash this evening, but Tom Huddlestone is serving a ban and will not be eligible to feature.
For Chelsea, only John Obi Mikel remains their sole player on the injury list, so Mourinho will again have a full-strength line-up to choose from. However, given the dip in form of some players, notably playmaker Cesc Fabregas it will be interesting to see if he opts to rotate or sticks with the same formation against a team that has not beaten them in nearly 27 years.
Interestingly, both Loic Remy and Didier Drogba, who have floated in and out of the starting line-up due to the presence of Diego Costa as the first-choice striker appear to really enjoy playing against the Tigers. The French international has with the former has three goals in three league appearances (but none yet for his new side) versus the hosts whilst the Ivorian icon has also scored a trio of goals in four appearances.
Out of their last 11 meetings, Chelsea have also won nine and drawn two across all competitions. The last time Hull City successfully defeated the Blues was back in October 1988 by a score-line of 3-0. In total the two have met 43 times, with Chelsea enjoying 29 wins vs. Hull City's four. They have had to settle for a draw in the other ten matches.
Thanks to a comfortable 3-0 win over West Brom, Manchester City have closed the gap to just three, but Chelsea still do have two games in hand. As such, it will be interesting to see if the Blues be able to take advantage of this to re-build their buffer against the reigning Premier League champions or if the Tigers can successfully thwart them in their own battle for survival.
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