MX23RW : Saturday, February 1 15:18:10| >> :600:721666:721666:
Jan 25, 2020 at 5.30pm UK at ​The KCOM Stadium
Attendance: 24,109
Hull City
1-2
Chelsea
Grosicki (78')
FT(HT: 0-1)
Batshuayi (6'), Tomori (64')

Preview: Hull City vs. Chelsea - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole provides team news, predicted lineups and a full preview of Saturday's FA Cup fourth-round tie between Hull City and Chelsea.

Chelsea make the trip to face Hull City at the KCOM Stadium in the FA Cup fourth round having recorded just one point from their last two outings in the Premier League.

As for the Tigers, two successive defeats in the Championship have led to the club dropping down to 12th position in the table.


Match preview

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard on December 29, 2019© Reuters

Frank Lampard has watched his Chelsea side make a habit of producing inconsistent performances throughout the season, and it has been no different for the Englishman over the past week.

The Blues dominated at Newcastle United and played with a man advantage against Arsenal for over an hour, yet Lampard's team were only able to record one point from a possible six.

Despite the obvious disappointment after conceding a last-gasp goal at St James' Park, twice failing to hold onto a lead against rivals Arsenal on Tuesday night would have hurt Lampard and his team, especially with the Gunners using a makeshift defence and midfield due to the dismissal of David Luiz.

The 2-2 draw further highlighted why Lampard remains so demanding regarding his team's struggles in the final third, and Saturday will represent a chance for the likes of Michy Batshuayi to stake his claim for a regular spot.

Tammy Abraham has just four goals from 13 outings, leaving Batshuayi with a window of opportunity to force his manager's hand when the team return to Premier League action on February 1.

Hull will be relatively pleased with their season so far, sitting 15 points clear of the relegation zone and just seven adrift of a place in the playoffs.

However, successive 1-0 defeats to Fulham and Derby County will have led to Grant McCann demanding more from his players ahead of welcoming Chelsea to Humberside.

The Tigers earned their place at this stage of the competition with a dramatic 3-2 victory at near-by Rotherham United, despite entering the closing 25 minutes of the game trailing by a 2-1 deficit.

Tom Eaves netted a hat-trick on that occasion, and the frontman will hope to be given the chance to build on his seven-goal tally for the season at the weekend.

Hull City FA Cup form: W
Hull City form (all competitions): LWWWLL

Chelsea FA Cup form: W
Chelsea form (all competitions): WDWWLD


Team News

Chelsea's Marcos Alonso reacts on November 5, 2019© Reuters

Having recovered from a glute injury, Marcos Alonso should come back into the team at left-back, with academy Tariq Lamptey coming into contention on the opposite side.

Kurt Zouma and Fikayo Tomori are expected to return in the centre of the backline, with Mateo Kovacic potentially being used as the holding midfielder behind Ross Barkley and Mason Mount.

Pedro will replace either Willian or Callum Hudson-Odoi on the flank, with Batshuayi taking the spot of the injured Abraham down the middle.

Despite his knee injury not being as bad as initially feared, Reece James is unlikely to feature in the starting lineup.

While McCann will likely make alterations, he may still opt to hand Jarrod Bowen an opportunity to impress against higher opposition at a time when clubs are debating whether to launch a £20m bid for his services.

Martin Samuelsen will hope to make his first start for the Tigers after signing from West Ham, while Eaves is in line to replace Josh Magennis in attack.

Defensive trio Matthew Pennington, Callum Elder and Jordy De Wijs have all been ruled out through injury.

Hull City possible starting lineup:
Long; Lichaj, Burke, Tafazolli, Kingsley; Lopes, Kane; Bowen, Irvine, Samuelsen; Eaves

Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Caballero; Lamptey, Zouma, Tomori, Alonso; Barkley, Kovacic, Mount; Willian, Batshuayi, Pedro


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Hull City 1-3 Chelsea

Despite likely opting to make mass changes to his team, Lampard will expect a strong performance. Hull should be able to trouble their more illustrious opponents, although we feel that the class of the Blues will ultimately shine through.


body check tags ::

Who will win Saturday's FA Cup tie between Hull City and Chelsea?

Hull City
Draw
Chelsea
Hull City
29.0%
Draw
3.2%
Chelsea
67.7%
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Tammy Abraham celebrates scoring for Chelsea on December 10, 2019
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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool25232056154171
2Manchester CityMan City24163565273851
3Leicester CityLeicester25154654262849
4Chelsea2512584334941
5Manchester UnitedMan Utd249783629734
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs249783832634
7Wolverhampton WanderersWolves2481063532334
8Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2581072523234
9Southampton2595113142-1132
10Crystal Palace2571082228-631
11Newcastle UnitedNewcastle2587102436-1231
12Arsenal2461263234-230
13Everton2586112836-830
14Burnley2493122838-1030
15Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2568112734-726
16Aston Villa2575133145-1426
17Watford2568112236-1426
18West Ham UnitedWest Ham2566132740-1324
19Bournemouth2566132337-1424
20Norwich CityNorwich2546152447-2318

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