Chelsea vs. Hull City: Complete Preview

Chelsea vs. Hull City

Date: Sunday Aug. 18

Venue: Stamford Bridge, London

Kickoff: 4 p.m. GMT, 11 a.m. ET, 8 a.m. PT

Who will win the Premier League title this season? It's a question every fan in the English top flight has been asking themselves of late as we count down to this weekend's big kick-off. Where Chelsea supporters are concerned, they may have a few reasons for feeling confident it will be them.

Money can help a team achieve success, but it doesn't ultimately deliver it. Nor does talent in some cases and neither does an iron will to succeed.

Sometimes you need luck or a little divine intervention, and any Blues attending Stamford Bridge on Sunday who believe in the supernatural will be able to draw on many omens to bring them belief that this is indeed their year.

The last time Chelsea lifted the Premier League trophy was in 2010 of course. That year they kicked off their season with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over none other than Hull City, as they will for 2013-14.

OK, so Steve Bruce's side have undergone a rebranding exercise since then and are changing their name to Hull City Tigers, but the opposition remains the same, despite the tweak to their identity.

Not only that, but being crowned champions that season ended a four-year wait to lift the Premier League trophy and—low and behold—this season marks the fourth since Chelsea could last cal themselves England's finest.

But wait, there's more.

Jose Mourinho's first-ever game in charge as Chelsea manager came at Stamford Bridge on the opening weekend of the 2004-05 campaign. The Blues faced Manchester United, defeating them 1-0 thanks to Eidur Gudjohnsen's scrappy finish.

Hull manager Steve Bruce used to play for Manchester United and 2004-05 saw Chelsea go on to lift their first league title in 50 years.

If the stars are to align for Chelsea, Hull may be just as concerned as the Blues are elated, however. Following their opening day defeat at Stamford Bridge in 2009, the Tigers went on to be relegated along with Portsmouth and Burnley.

"I want them [the fans] to be with us as a Blue family—a Blue family that last year, at certain moments, looked like it was broken," Mourinho told The Sun this week (via Daily Mail).

His return has all but healed those wounds. Win on Sunday and the club will be truly reunited.

Danger Men

Eden Hazard was outshone by teammate Juan Mata last year, but with the Belgian enjoying an excellent preseason, he looks ready to match No. 10 this season. 

With Mata not long back from an extended summer break following the Confederations Cup and also nursing a knee injury, Hazard will be the man to look out for on Sunday.

How will Hull cope with his tenacity and skill in attack?

They certainly wouldn't have been used to playing against stars of his ilk in the Championship last term, and, as Wigan Athletic found out to their detriment on the opening weekend in 2012-13, once Hazard gets started, it's hard stopping him.

The Tigers have threats of their own, though, and Danny Graham will be hoping to make an impact on his debut after signing from Sunderland where he endured a difficult six-month spell.

He joined the Black Cats in January, moving to the KC Stadium on loan this summer.

Chelsea fans will remember him from his time at Swansea City, scoring for the Jacks in their 2-0 victory over the Blues in the Capital One Cup semi-final before joining Sunderland shortly after.

New Faces

Despite plenty of speculation, Chelsea have signed just three players since last term, while a one-year contract renewal has been forthcoming for backup goalkeeper Hilario.

The new faces at Stamford Bridge are Mark Schwarzer, who signed on a free from Fulham and the young talents of Andre Schurrle from Bayer Leverkusen and Vitesse Arnhem's Marco van Ginkel.

Hull have been busy strengthening for their Premier League assault since promotion from the Championship, raiding Tottenham Hotspur this week for Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone. The latter was a £5 million capture while Livermore arrives on loan.

Elsewhere they have added Wigan Athletic's Maynor Figueroa to their ranks alongside Curtis Davies, Ahmed Elmohamady, Yannick Sagbo and goalkeepers Steve Harper and Allan McGregor.

Predicted Lineups

Chelsea: Cech; Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole; van Ginkel, Ramires; Schurrle, Oscar, Hazard; Lukaku

Hull: McGregor; Rosenior, Chester, Davies, Figueroa; Elmohamady, Koren, Livermore, Huddlestone, Brady; Graham

Predicted Score

Chelsea 4-0 Hull City

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

Hull City