Despite only having the Premier League to focus on along with the domestic Cups and no European competition, Chelsea have stumbled a few times since the season started. The team has yet to find its rhythm under Conte’s close supervision who just snubbed rumors that the lot is in need of an overhaul. His discussions with the club powers have not led to any jettisoning of players so they can stay focused and confident they have a future with the club for now. This is very important as with the arrival of a new manager, changes are inevitable. Fortunately, it seems that things will stay the way they are right now and that Conte will not be letting anyone go until he has evaluated them fully.

This game against Hull comes at the right moment as Chelsea have suffered during their last two games. The defeats against Liverpool and Arsenal have not been easy to forget. A good performance during this Saturday’s match should relief some of the pressure especially now we are just 6 games into the season.

Chelsea’s history against Hull shows that the Blues are favorites. They have won 10 out of 12 encounters with the Tigers and still have 2 of the best scorers in the matches. Hazard and Costa have contributed to 5 of Chelsea’s last 7 goals against Hull and are favorites to score again.

Conte knows that Hull will be a tough nut to crack especially after they just lost two games heavily and are now looking for redemption. The problems the Blues are having are also a concern to the owner as Roman Abramovich attended training. “We don’t have a magic wand to change the situation in a few months. We must work hard together and we are doing this. We must understand that only through hard work can we close the gap. – the Italian boss said about his side as reported by the Independent.

Hopefully, by the time of the game, Conte will manage to improve the players’ confidence which is probably the biggest problem right now. The talent is there, it just needs some luck to go with it and they are getting Hull City at the right time as they have conceded 9 goals in their past 2 games.

Squad Updates: Hull City

Suspended Elmohamady (one game)

Injured Dawson (knee, 15 Oct), Lenihan (knee, 29 Oct), Luer (knee, Dec), Odubajo (knee, Dec), Bruce (achilles, Dec), McGregor (back, Jan)

Predicted Line-Up:

———————-Marshall———————–
—-Weir—–Livermore——Davies——-Robertson—
–Snodgrass–Huddlestone–Mason—Meyler—Diomande–
———————-Hernandez———————-

Squad Updates: Chelsea

Injured Zouma (knee, 26 Oct) Terry (ankle, 15 Oct), Mikel (knock, 15 Oct). Van Ginkel (knee, Nov)

Predicted line-up:

———————-Courtois————————-
—-Ivanovic—–Cahill——Luiz———Azpilcueta—
———————-Kante—————————-
—-Willian—-Fabregas—-Oscar———Hazard——–
———————-Costa—————————-

Subs: Begovic, Matic, Alonso, Loftus-Cheek, Bashuayi, Pedro

We predict a 3-1 win for Chelsea.