Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge on Saturday looking to respond to last weekend's defeat at ****** nal, but Hull City will offer a very different kind of test.
Xabi Alonso's side have scored eight goals in their opening three Premier League games and followed that with a 6-3 League Cup win over Leeds in midweek. Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and João Pedro have already become the main attacking reference points, while Chelsea have scored inside the opening five minutes in all three of their league matches.
Hull, though, have built their impressive start in almost the opposite way.
Sergej Jakirović's newly-promoted side have taken seven points from games against Manchester United, Coventry and Aston Villa without conceding a goal. They remain the only Premier League team yet to be breached this season.
The clean sheets do not mean Hull have dominated games. They had just 26.5% possession against Villa and have regularly been happy to defend in a compact 5-4-1, give the opposition the ball and wait for opportunities to counter. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has already played more passes into the opposition half than any other Hull player, which says plenty about their willingness to go direct.
#games #villa #scored #opening
Xabi Alonso's side have scored eight goals in their opening three Premier League games and followed that with a 6-3 League Cup win over Leeds in midweek. Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and João Pedro have already become the main attacking reference points, while Chelsea have scored inside the opening five minutes in all three of their league matches.
Hull, though, have built their impressive start in almost the opposite way.
Sergej Jakirović's newly-promoted side have taken seven points from games against Manchester United, Coventry and Aston Villa without conceding a goal. They remain the only Premier League team yet to be breached this season.
The clean sheets do not mean Hull have dominated games. They had just 26.5% possession against Villa and have regularly been happy to defend in a compact 5-4-1, give the opposition the ball and wait for opportunities to counter. Goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis has already played more passes into the opposition half than any other Hull player, which says plenty about their willingness to go direct.
#games #villa #scored #opening
1 day ago
