Predicting Chelsea's Starting XI for the 2013-14 Premier League Season

The new Premier League campaign is just a week away and after a long, gruelling preseason, squads across England are beginning to come together as manager's find their formula for success.

Where Chelsea are concerned, the Blues starting XI has slowly taken shape since their first friendly of preseason when they defeated Singha All-Stars 1-0 on July 17 and some stars have wasted no time in staking their claim to a starting berth.

Andre Schurrle and Marco Van Ginkel have been added to the ranks, with both players impressing while on tour in Asia and the US.

Schurrle had been a long-term target for the Blues, but while his new teammate Van Ginkel was a somewhat surprise addition in comparison, he has made his mark on Jose Mourinho it would seem.

Ahead of joining Chelsea, Van Ginkel had expressed concern as to how much action he would see at Stamford Bridge, although The Guardian reported in early July that Mourinho had promised he was a big part of his plans.

Having started in all of Chelsea's last five friendlies—including this week's 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid—it seems those reports are true, with the young Dutch ace looking ready to become a regular.

Elsewhere, John Terry has enjoyed a productive month or so back at the club after his summer break and looks raring to go after a dismal campaign that saw him sidelined with injury.

So too does Eden Hazard—one of Chelsea's stars of 2012-13—who will be hoping to build on what was an excellent debut season in England.

Surveying the scene at Stamford Bridge, international call-ups and injuries mean Chelsea are some way off being in a position to name their strongest XI.

David Luiz, Juan Mata and Fernando Torres are not long back from Confederations Cup duty this summer, so it may be awhile before Mourinho is afforded the luxury of starting the trio. They're weeks behind their teammates in terms of fitness and form, so the Portuguese will need to ease them back into action, making the most of his squad in the early weeks.

Mourinho has plenty of decisions to make ahead of the big kick-off, so we've attempted to make one for him in selecting his starting XI against Hull, below. We've also listed what we think will be Chelsea's strongest XI for 2013-14, but what do you think? Let us know in the comments section.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here: @garryhayes