Hull v Chelsea Betting – Premier League Tuesday

After Manchester United’s clinical display against Arsenal at the emirates on Sunday, Chelsea have an immediate change to put further distance between them and second placed United. The gap is down to one point at the moment, with Chelsea enjoying a slender one point advantage over Alex Ferguson’s Red Devils. Chelsea have had their problems on the road this season, but their weekend victory over Burnley will hopefully have stopped the rot for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, bringing a bit more belief in themselves that can win away from Stamford Bridge.

Midweek opponents Hull gave Chelsea a real fright on the opening day of the season, when a late goal by Didier Drogba sealed all three points for the Blues at Stamford Bridge. This fixture was the one which got postponed mid January due to the adverse weather conditions which swept through the UK. Chelsea now are back at full strength, with all of their African Cup of Nations players back at the Bridge. Drogba is likely to be back in the line up for the tricky away fixture, but there will be no Michael Essien as he is still out injured for some time.

Chelsea need to send a message straight back to Manchester United, that they are going to fight all the way to wrest the Premier League crown away from Old Trafford. Their performance against Burnley will have given them hope, although it was not the most clinical or ruthless of performances. They were much the better team, but appeared to struggle to hit top gear, relying on a lot of unfamiliar long balls from the back. Still, Frenchman Nicolas Anelka continues his fine form for the blues, and under pressure John Terry looked unfazed throughout the 90 minutes. His defensive partner, Alex, however, looked a shade of the quality needed to steady the defensive cores though. The much more influential Ricardo Carvalho should retake his place along side Terry on Tuesday.

Tuesday’s match against Hull, is one of those games which proves what Champions are made of. Although Hull are second from bottom in the Premier League and seriously struggling to pick up points, and it has been a long time since they could celebrate a victory in the league. Hull have only won four matches all season in the Premier League, and their plight to avoid relegation seems a very long uphill one. Recent fixtures between the two sides have averaged Chelsea scoring three goals against the Tigers, which, for a leaky Hull defence, won’t send good signals.

This is the time when Chelsea really need to step up their title challenge. With United looking good, the Blues can ill afford another slip up on the road. A win on Tuesday will open up the four point gap again, and help build further momentum of their next game, a huge home fixture against Arsenal on Sunday. If Chelsea put their next two games to bed without any problems, then they will have taken massive strides towards the title, and probably ended London rivals Arsenal’s hopes of living the Premier League title dream.

BETTING STATS

Last 4 Head to Head
Chelsea 2, Hull 1
Chelsea 0, Hull 0
Hull 0, Chelsea 3
Hull 0, Chelsea 4

Last 5 Match Goals
Hull – 5 For, 11 Against
Chelsea – 14 For, 4 Against

Last 10 Form
Hull – W1, D5, L4
Chelsea – W6, D3, L1

Win Percentage
Hull have a 36.4 win percentage at home
Chelsea have a 54.5 win percentage away from home

Match Prices
Chelsea to win: 2/7 at Bet365
Draw: 9/2 at Victor Chandler
Hull to win: 14/1 at Stan James

Betting Advice: Chelsea should win hands down, but whether it will be one of their total supremacy games in another matter. Hull will try and defend their way to at least a point, and Chelsea need to be a bit more ruthless than they were on Sunday against Burnley. Still, with Drogba back in action, it should make a big difference with having two world class strikers up front, instead of Anelka roaming around alone up there. Will it be a goal fest? Probably not, but Chelsea are at the very least a couple of goals better than Hull in a handicap. That said, a Chelsea -1 Handicap at Bet365 for 5/6 is a pretty decent price.