3 Ways Chelsea Can Beat Hull City This Afternoon | OneFootball

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Chelsea The Blues

Opinion

Xabi Alonso’s Chelsea welcomes Hull City to Stamford Bridge later today, and this is a matchup that Chelsea recently made look easy at the MKM Stadium. The Blues faced the Tigers in an FA Cup Fourth Round game in February, beating them 4-0. However, Hull have improved immensely this season and have still not conceded a goal in the league yet. Can the Blues’ ‘just outscore them’ approach break up Hull’s impressive start?

Here’s 3 ways Chelsea can beat Hull City this afternoon.

Predicted Lineup

Firstly, here’s a potential lineup that Alonso could put out at the Bridge this afternoon:

Chelsea Lineup (3-4-3): Martinez, Colwill, Lacroix, Fofana, Barco, James, Neto, Chavarria, Palmer, Rogers, Pedro

Fofana and Martinez start again after missing out on a starting spot against Leeds midweek, and James comes into midfield for Malo Gusto after the Frenchman had a hall of shame performance on Wednesday. Chavarria may start after having a solid showing in the League Cup and ‘JP Morgan’ is the obvious choice up top.

tACTICALLY oUTCLASS HULL’S MIRROR FORMATION

Chelsea set up in more a 4-3-3 on Wednesday, something we have seen them do in the cup so far. However, Alonso is likely to revert back to his favoured 3-4-3, the same sort of formation that Hull prefer. This is the first time this season Chelsea will face a team with a like-for-like setup, and it will be interesting to see how Alonso handles it. With the Blues not enjoying much possession but scoring bags of goals, will they sit off Hull too and hit them on the counter?

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This could be the way Alonso goes, as we have seen that Hull are comfortable with having the ball despite their preference to set up for counters. Alonso may have a headache on his hands should he decide to play more keep-ball against a similar setup, as they can be pressed man-to-man easier, something we saw Manchester United fall to on opening day. There will certainly be an interesting tactical battle on show later.

Get the most out of Pedro Neto

Chelsea’s Portuguese now-wingback has just signed a new contract until 2032, a reward after his solid contributions in Chelsea blue so far. Neto will be chuffed with this, and has told the Blues fans that he wants to achieve more with the club. His stunning strike on Wednesday to complete their comeback has him and the fans in high spirits. He will want to replicate that form going into today, and that wingback spot is looking quite open with Marco Palestra being injured and Gusto having a poor start to the season.

Neto is not the obvious choice for the man to watch in this match, but he can contribute heavily if given a chance. Ryan Giles is not a stellar defender, and Neto can exploit that with his rapid runs down the wings. His chemistry with Palmer on the right will be vital, with Neto taking up dangerous attacking positions when Chelsea get in the final third. Sergej Jakirović will be keeping an eye on him, and you should too.

Keep it tight at the back

Chelsea have enjoyed some stellar scoring form this season, bagging 8 league goals, 16 across all competitions. So, why is their goal difference only +1? The answer lies in their defence, where they have been leaking goals at a worrying rate despite their great start to the campaign. They conceded 2 to Fulham, 3 to Brighton and 2 to Arsenal, showing a worrying pattern of mishaps at the back. The root cause of this could sit further ahead, though…

Moises Caicedo may be the best ball-winner in the league. Without him, Chelsea look unusually shaky. His security in midfield means that the defence has much less chances to worry about, but the Blues are missing him right now. Their midfield has been getting bypassed, leaving the defenders high and dry. With danger-men such as Belloumi and McBurnie and the link-up chemistry in Hull’s attack, Chelsea need to be especially mindful in defence. Compensating in that area could clinch the 3 points. I’m not here to tell him how to do his job, but Xabi Alonso should be thinking hard about how to plug these gaps.

Predicted Scoreline

Chelsea 3-1 Hull

Chelsea do inevitably concede, but their attacking force proves to be reliable once again.