Why these 3 Chelsea stars will be key against Hull City

Eden Hazard

On Saturday the opening day fixtures are repeated with Chelsea travelling to Hull, with the latter looking to avenge their 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Blues. The opening half an hour at Stamford Bridge back in August was amongst some of the best football played all season. Chelsea were irresistible, playing with speed, flair and power. It is credit to Hull that they came back into the match and more than equalled Chelsea for the remainder of the game.

After that result, few may have been predicting that Hull could be threatened by relegation when the two sides met again but the Tigers have been disproving all the doubters this season. They currently sit 10th in the table, six points clear of Crystal Palace in 18th. They’ve only lost two home games all season and Chelsea know they cannot afford to take Steve Bruce’s men lightly.

Belgian winger Eden Hazard will undoubtedly be key to Chelsea’s chances on Saturday. Not only does he have the highest Performance Score at the club, with 710, he has the fourth-highest of anyone in the Premier League. He’s in a good vein of form too. In his last eight league games he’s only failed to register a Performance Score above 30 twice. He’s Chelsea top goal-scorer with eight and with 49 chances created, including five assists, he’s also their chief creator.

Eden Hazard Stats

In Hull’s 3-5-2 formation his primary opponent will be Ahmed Elmohamady, a rampaging wing-back. The Egyptian scored a couple of weeks ago in the rout against Fulham but he’ll have a much more defensive-orientated game against Hazard.

Another man in-form is the newest member of Chelsea’s Brazilian family, Willian. Signed from Anzhi from under the noses of rivals Tottenham, it would be safe to say that, until recently, Willian has flattered to deceive. However, in the last few games he’s really started to show Chelsea fans what he can do. He scored his second league goal for the club against Southampton and his contribution to Mourinho’s defensive work ethic is astonishing.

If you look at his heat maps from the Southampton and Liverpool victories, Willian is all over the place; left wing, right wing, central and tracking back. He is the reason that Juan Mata can’t get a look in at the moment.

Willian’s heat map

A perhaps surprising choice for a potential danger man is Spanish full back Cesar Azpilicueta. In Branislav Ivanovic’s continued absence through injury Azpilicueta has beenused at left-back. The Spaniard has done an admirable job displacing Ashley Cole. Mourinho moved Azpilicueta over to cover for Cole’s ageing legs but was shocked to see how well he was performing and found it difficult to bring Cole back into the side. The Spaniard is now Mourinho’s firm first choice at left-back and he is growing into a very important Chelsea player with every passing game.

He’s quick, comfortable on the ball and a good crosser, everything you want in a modern full back. He’s also very sound defensively and like Ivanovic he loves exploiting the space left by Chelsea’s roaming midfielders. Azpilicueta has created five chances in his 12 games at left-back this season. He’s solid but is still a threat down the left-hand side.

If Hazard, Willian and Azpilicueta continue their run of good form, Chelsea shouldn’t have many problems against Hull. At the KC Stadium, Bruce’s side are tough to beat, but the Blues should claim a valuable three points.