EPL Odds: Chelsea Seek Easy Win Over Hull
Chelsea (-500) vs. Hull (+2000), Draw (+690)
Hull City (4-4-13, 16 points) takes on league leaders Chelsea (17-1-3, 52 points) this Sunday, January 22nd at Stamford Bridge for the 22nd round of the English Premier League.
Chelsea came out smiling last weekend when a draw between Liverpool and Manchester United helped them extend their lead over the league to seven points. With both Man City and Man U effectively out of the title race, Chelsea are looking more and more likely to pick up the title.
But they have a few tough games coming up. Next week they face title-chasers Liverpool and the week after it’s fourth-place Arsenal. Chelsea will be looking to pick up an easy three points against the relegation-threatened Hull City this weekend before the true test begins.
Last week, Chelsea bounced back from a streak-ending loss to Tottenham by beating Leicester City 3-0. Missing from the game was Diego Costa, who had a dispute with one of their training managers and was benched for disciplinary reasons. There’s a lot of speculation over how serious the problems are with Costa. There are reports he is looking to leave the Blues, and possibly head back to his former club Atletico Madrid or even move to China.
Chinese money has already rocked Chelsea this season, snapping up midfielders Jon Mikel Obi and Oscar for outlandish amounts. But losing Costa will be a whole different story. He is the most dominant striker in the league, and has been a crucial component for Chelsea for some time. Losing him would put a significant dent in their title chances.
Hull are coming off a huge 3-1 win against Bournemouth last week, only their fourth of the season. The victory lifted them from dead last to 18th place, just inside the relegation zone. But the Tigers have a terrible away record, losing their last eight away matches.
Chelsea’s troubles may come back to bite them as the league progresses. But against Hull City, they’re justifiably the overwhelming favorite.
Pick: Chelsea (-500)
Photo credit: “Spot the ball” by dom fellowes, CC BY-SA 2.0 [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0], via Flickr.
Don Aguero is a man of many talents, writing about nearly anything you can put odds to. Don has been writing for SportsBettingDime since 2015, covering sports, entertainment and politics. You name it, he's covered it! He is also a steadfast West Ham fan, and has learned to embrace that suffering.
