Overview
Since 1988, Hull has never won against an away team from London on Friday. Therefore, they entered this match with a historical jinx that has lasted nearly 38 years and has not yet found any positive results.
Sergej Jakirovic's team enters the upcoming FA Cup match with a streak of 8 consecutive defeats against Chelsea, including two consecutive eliminations from domestic cups by the capital's representative in February 2018 and January 2020. The team competing for a play-off spot in the Championship now wants to create a surprise against their old coach in their return to MKM stadium.
Although they may be very excited to welcome Chelsea after 4 consecutive wins since overcoming Blackburn Rovers on penalties, their two most recent home results - a 0-0 draw with Watford and a 2-3 loss to Bristol City - show that Hull has not had the psychological momentum they wanted before the confrontation with The Blues.
However, the team that reached the FA Cup final in 2014 still hopes to maximize the opportunity to enter the 4th round for the first time since 2020. This is the time they were eliminated by Chelsea when they tried to win a ticket to the 5th round for the first time since 2018.
Chelsea is the team looking to stop the Championship representative. The London team is currently led by former Hull coach Rosenior, who almost brought the "Tigers" to the play-offs after the 2023-2024 season closed.
Not successful at that goal, Rosenior was sacked in May 2024. However, his coaching career since then has progressed rapidly, with a successful period in Strasbourg before taking office in West London.
Despite just being held to a 2-2 draw by Leeds in the Premier League, Rosenior's time leading Chelsea is generally considered quite positive. The capital representative has won 7 victories in 10 matches in all competitions before entering the FA Cup match.
Chelsea traveled to MKM when the memory of the defeat in this stage last season is probably still haunting, after the 1-2 defeat to Brighton at Amex Stadium, extending their not-so-impressive streak of achievements in the oldest cup tournament in England.
Since reaching 3 consecutive finals in the 2020-2022 period, Chelsea have been eliminated in rounds 3 and 4 respectively by Manchester City and Brighton, interspersed with reaching the semi-finals of the 2023-2024 season. A journey similar to 2024 will surely satisfy fans.
First of all, they need to avoid being eliminated consecutively in this stage, when Rosenior aims to leave the away field with a victory to continue to maintain a favorable start at the London team.
Personnel situation
Semi Ajayi has not played since wearing the Nigerian national team jersey at AFCON 2025 due to a hamstring injury. Besides, Mohamed Belloumi (hamstring), Cody Drameh (bares), Darko Gyabi (arms), Matts Crooks (hamstring) and the long-term absence Eliot Matazo (knee) are also sidelined.
In attack, Oli McBurnie and Joe Gelhardt scored 12 and 10 goals respectively in the Championship, thereby affirming that they are the most dangerous attacking spearheads of the home team.
In the opposite direction, Chelsea entered this match with some personnel issues. Marc Cucurella (hamstring) had to leave the field in the first half of the match against Leeds and is likely to join the injury list with Levi Colwill (knee), Dario Essugo and Jamie Gittens (leg).
Although Romeo Lavia has returned to training after a thigh injury, this midfielder is unlikely to be risked for use too early. Meanwhile, Reece James (sick), Filip Jorgensen and Tosin Adarabioyo (hamstring) will be assessed before deciding their ability to play against Hull.
Expected lineup:
Hull City: Pandur, McNair, Egan, Hughes, Coyle, Slater, Lundstram, Giles, Gelhardt, Joseph, McBurnie.
Sanchez, Acheampong, Fofana, Badiashile, Hato, Caicedo, Santos, Neto, Estevao, Garnacho, Delap.
The match between Hull City and Chelsea takes place at 2:45 am on February 14 (Vietnam time).
