Chelsea vs Hull City
Friday 15th February 2018, Stamford Bridge
FA Cup – Fifth Round
BBC 1 – 7:45pm
Chelsea vs Hull – Chelsea will be hoping to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup as they face Championship opposition Hull City.
Following back to back defeats to Bournemouth and Watford, Chelsea returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory against West Brom. Eden Hazard was the Blues’ star man as he helped himself to two goals. That took the Belgian’s tally to 18 for the season and he will be looking to add to them tonight. The Belgian has six goals in as many games as he leads the task of firing Chelsea into the top four.
Monday’s match also saw deadline day signing Olivier Giroud make his full debut and the return of fit-again Alvaro Morata. With a two-legged tie with Barcelona sandwiched between trips to Old Trafford and the Etihad, Chelsea will need all of their players fit and firing as they enter a month that could shape their season.
With the race for the top four very much alive, it’ll be interesting to see how Chelsea juggle the three competitions. Whilst Barcelona are as tough as it gets in the Champions League, they have beaten them before and could do it again. Antonio Conte’s future is far from settled and I wonder how much the speculation over his future could derail the Champions’ season.
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With the league title long gone, their focus has to be securing a top four finish whilst trying to pick up some silverware. The FA Cup represents their best opportunity to do that and whilst I expect Conte to make some changes, he knows how important this trophy could be to his future at the club.
After a turgid few months, Hull secured their first league win in 11 games at the weekend. Their 2-0 victory against Nottingham Forest lifted them out of the relegation zone, with the FA Cup now a welcome distraction to their league worries. Having knocked out Blackburn and Forest on route to the fifth round, Nigel Atkins’ side have little to lose as they hope to produce a shock result.
Results having slightly improved of late, with the Tigers losing just one of their last four games and conceding just twice. Having watched Norwich take Chelsea all the way to penalties in the last round, there’s no reason why they can’t aspire to take the Champions all the way this time.
Andre Marriner takes charge of the Chelsea vs Hull City FA Cup Tie tonight. Marriner has only used his red card once this season. Photo Credit: Sky Sports.
Hull haven’t beaten Chelsea since 1988 and have lost their last six meetings between the two. Similarly, Hull have never won away at Chelsea, and have picked up just two points from a possible 42 against them. Andre Marriner is the official for Friday night’s clash, having refereed Swansea vs Burnley at the weekend. Marriner has an average booking points total of 28.9, which is a fairly average score compared to other referees in the league.
Whilst Chelsea haven’t been that convincing of late, I still expect to see them in the hat for the quarter-finals. Hull aren’t in great form and Conte’s side should really blow them away. I think Chelsea to win to nil would be my best tip, with a winning margin of exactly three goals a longer shot.
Chelsea vs Hull City will be televised live on BBC 1 from 7:45PM GMT in the UK.
Prediction: Chelsea 3-0 Hull City.
Suggested tips – Chelsea vs Hull City (BET365):
- Correct score, Chelsea to win 3-0 – (link no longer available)
- Chelsea to win to nil – (link no longer available)
- To Score in Both Halves – Chelsea to score in both halves – (link no longer available)
- Giroud to score in 90 mins – (link no longer available)
Suggested tips – Chelsea vs Hull City (Skybet):
- Chelsea to win 2-0 or 3-0 – 2/1.
- Chelsea to win and over 2.5 goals – 8/13.
- Price Boost – Hull to Win 2-1 – 66/1
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Suggested tips – RequestABets – Chelsea vs Hull City (Skybet):
- RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Chelsea v Hull – Giroud to score, Chelsea to win and Luiz & Ampadu to be carded – 66/1
- RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Chelsea v Hull – Pedro to score, Chelsea 4-1, 10+ Chelsea corners and 10+ booking points each team – 100/1
- RequestABet Specials Up to 10/1 – Chelsea v Hull – Chelsea to win, Chelsea to score 2+ goals, 6+ Chelsea corners and 40+ match booking points – 9/2
- RequestABet Specials Up to 10/1 – Chelsea v Hull – Chelsea to win to nil & to score 3+ goals, 8+ Chelsea corners and 30+ match booking pts – 11/1
- RequestABet Specials 80/1 and above – Chelsea v Hull – Hull to win, BTTS, 1+ corners each team in each half and 10+ booking points each team – 100/1
- Pundits RequestABets – Chelsea v Hull – Jamie Redknapp’s RAB: Morata to score first, Chelsea to win to nil and Chelsea to score 3+ goals – 15/2
- Popular RequestABets – Chelsea v Hull – Giroud to score a hat trick and Chelsea 3-0 – 125/1
- Popular RequestABets – Chelsea v Hull – Cahill to score a header and Willian to score from outside the area – 100/1
Odds and markets last updated on Friday 16 February 2018 @13:24 GMT.
Keep visiting the tips and preview area for further updates and previews for this weekends FA Cup action.
