May 23, 2013; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic (2) and Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez (32) battle for the ball at Busch Stadium. Manchester City defeated Chelsea 4-3. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports
Chelsea FC head to the KC Stadium hoping to keep their lead at the top of the Premier League table at 5 points with a game in hand, while Hull City will want to pick up points in the relegation race, where they currently sit 3 points ahead of Burnley.
Chelsea’s lead currently sits at 3 points, with Manchester City winning at West Brom this weekend, but Chelsea FC manager has said the title race is still a 5 horse race, and that the Blues cannot become complacent in their quest to capture their first Premier League title since 2009.
"It’s still a five [horse race] because the distance is still mathematically possible. The reality is the distance between second, third, fourth, fifth is so short that I look at them and I see that things are open. We are in front. The advantage is significant but there’s still a long way to go.”- Chelsea FC boss Jose Mourinho"
Hull City, meanwhile, are threatened with relegation despite sitting just outside the drop zone. Hull City feature tough matches beyond the Chelsea match, including Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. Hull manager Steve Bruce is confident his side can avoid relegation and stay in the top flight, especially given the troubles faced by the teams currently in the bottom three.
The Blues will hope their attacking power of Eden Hazard and Diego Costa can power them to another league victory. Chelsea have looked a bit lifeless in the past few matches, perhaps owning to fatigue from playing so many matches. The bench doesn’t appear to be as deep as the Blues had hoped, and despite going ahead early (or late, for that matter) in recent matches Chelsea have been unable to claim the full points. Most recently, Chelsea went ahead within 20 minutes against Southampton, only to draw 1-1 after conceding a penalty.
Chelsea FC Team News
Chelsea FC have just one injury, with John Obi Mikel still recovering from surgery. Otherwise, the Blues are healthy and ready to compete.
Chelsea FC Predicted Starting XI
————————–Courtois—————————
—Ivanovic———–Terry——-Zouma———Azpilicueta
—————Fabregas————-Matic————–
—-Cuadrado————-Willian———-Hazard——-
—————————Costa————————
Predicted Result
Chelsea FC 2-1 Hull City
The Blues need a win to keep the lead at the top of the table as high as it can go with a game in hand. Here’s hoping Eden Hazard and Diego Costa can tear apart the Hull City defense to lead Chelsea to another 3 points.