Chelsea begin their 2013/14 EPL campaign at home to newly-promoted Hull City. We’ll have live scores and updates from 1.00am AEST.
With the artist formerly known as The Special One now back in charge under a new identity as the Happy One, Chelsea have been installed as second favourites for the EPL title they last won three years ago.
Jose Mourinho’s tenure at Real Madrid was a fractious affair. But in his low-key second coming he told us that he has learned and is now more mature. Whether it stays that way remains to be seen.
Blues fans won’t care much if he brings the success he won in his first spell, but they must play with enough width to frighten the opposing full backs this year.
Mourinho has already recruited Andre Schurrle from Leverkusen for £18 million. He has also recalled the impressive Kevin de Bruyne from his loan spell at Bremen.
Chelsea certainly appear well-stocked with creative midfielders: the mouth-watering trio of Oscar, Mata and Hazard will be looking to push on this term.
It’s frightening that the Belgian said he needs to improve – especially when his wonderful balance and quick feet provided the most assists from open play in the EPL last season.
It appears that David Luiz will be played at the back this year, instead of a deep-lying midfield role – even if Mikel John Obi, Frank Lampard and Ramires failed to convince in that position.
The real uncertainty is what Mourinho will do with Torres. The manager has been circumspect on plans for the £50 million signing. Of the 22 goals he scored last year only eight were in the league.
The subplot will be riveting to watch. As will Chelsea if they fire on all cylinders this year.
With Manchester United, Everton and Spurs away by the end of September they’re going to have to.
“Hull City is irrelevant, my dislike for the word’City’is because it is common. City is a lousy identity.” So said owner Assem Allan in an attempt to rebrand the name to Hull Tigers.
Yet many fans views are pragmatic, they still see Allan as the man who saved them from liquidation. It will be interesting to see if they remain as the season progresses.
Manager Steve Bruce has been diplomatic on the matter concentrating on pre-season.
Last year Bruce played a 3-5-2 formation with creative Robert Koren top-scoring with nine goals. The three centre-backs ensured sturdiness and the wing-backs, Ahmed Elmohamady and Robbie Brady, provided notable vigour and attacking threat.
This summer Bruce has alternated between 3-5-2 and a 4-3-3 to utilise the pace of fit-again Aluko and forward Yannick Sagbo, an Ivorian international, signed for £2m from Evian.
Purchasing Allan McGregor (who played in goal for Scotland at Wembley) for £1.5m from Besiktas is a good move, with experienced back-up in Steve Harper on a free from Newcastle with Tom Huddleston joining yesterday from Spurs for £5.5m.
Hull have never won at Chelsea. The overall head-to-head is 10 wins, 16 defeats with seven draws.
Nearly four years to the day Chelsea scored a last-minute winner as Hull lost 2-1 at the Bridge against a stubborn Tigers.
Something tells me there may be a similar result this time around.
Tweet us at @TheRoarSports or me @laythy29
Geoff Lemon
Expert
Thanks for the updates mate.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
FT 2-0. Chelsea looked impressive in that scintillating first half whereas Hull just looked shell-shocked after that first 45 minutes. Credit must go to the Tigers for battling gamely in the second half even if Chelsea did take their foot off the pedal considerably. Two great goals by Lampard and Oscar sealed the win. The Blues look in ominous form led by the return of the Special One - or is it the Happy One now? Hull for their part must be glad they won't come across a team of Chelsea's calibre every week. Thanks for reading. You can tweet me @laythy29
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
FT 2-0 Chelsea. Jose Mourinho hugs Steve Bruce and applauds the supporters. He then proceeds to throw his notes to the Blues fans behind the dugout. Frank Lampard and Allan McGregor appear to share a joke about that missed penalty Smiles all round at the Bridge.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
In Summary: FT: Chelsea 2-0 Hull City. McGregor saves early Lampard penalty. Oscar,13 and Lampard, 25, score for Chelsea
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
90+3. FULL-TIME - Chelsea 2-0 Hull City
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
90+3 George Boyd's 20 yard shot on the turn goes wide 20 yards and that should be almost be it...
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
90+2. It was interesting to see that Mourinho in the first half was far more animated. In the second he has been far more relaxed suggesting that the lack of intensity by Chelsea was fine with him - ahead of Villa and the big one against United next week.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'90 +1: Two minutes added time.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'89. Elmohamady gets another cross in. Cech with a strong punch clears under pressure from Sagbo.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'85. Chelsea fans start to stream away from the ground knowing the game is all but won.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'85. Marco van Ginkel replaces Oscar for his Chelsea debut.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'83 Hull just haven't had the quality to put Chelsea under concerted levels of pressure that may have brought a goal.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'82. Apparently some of the Australian cricket team are here today. Peter Siddle said the other day that he did a tour of Stamford Bridge after the Lords Test. In other news it appears that Chelsea have declared at 2-0 up.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'81 Hull deserve credit for the way they have battled in the second half. But you do get the feeling that Chelsea's level of intensity is nowhere near the first half.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'81. Lampard free kick. Drills it hard. McGregor was nowhere near it but it flies just wide
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'79 Had a tweet about the fact that at least the re-branded Hull Tigers don't have to call themselves the Hull City Paper Tigers in the second half.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'79. George Boyd replaces Sone Aluko
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
76' On the run, Schurrle chips McGregor but the ball fails to drop quickly enough and heads just over the bar.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
75 min: Fernando Torres off, Romelu Lukaku on. Torres hasn't done much. George Pritchard made a good point about the fact that with Rooney and Lewandowski linked and Lukaku waiting in the wings Torres needs to prove himself to Jose. He hasn't on today's evidence.
Layth Yousif
Roar Guru
'73. Elmohamady swings a great cross into the Chelsea box from the right and Davies at the far post to tries to head it back across goal. The header was good aimed for he the top-left corner, only for Cech to make the save look easier than it was.