chelsea vs hull city preview

Jose Mourinho will open his second spell in charge of Chelsea with a home date against Premier League new boys Hull City.

The return of Mourinho to English football has created quite a buzz - and not just around Stamford Bridge.

Having guided Chelsea to five major honours during his first stint in west London - including two Premier League titles - the Portuguese tactician will be hoping to sprinkle his magic dust over the Blues once again.
He has wasted little time in reshaping a squad inherited from interim coach Rafa Benitez and will want to ensure that the struggles of recent years - which have left Chelsea sweating on their involvement in the UEFA Champions League - are put firmly to one side.
While nothing less than a charge towards the top flight crown will be accepted by the Blues, Hull City would be happy to end the campaign with a standing among English football's elite safely cemented.
The Tigers lasted two seasons the last time they graced this level, but will need no reminding how difficult it can be for sides stepping out of the Championship to find their feet at the top table.
Steve Bruce's experience could be crucial, and he will be looking to get points on the board early to help calm any nerves and avoid making the 2013/14 campaign more of a challenge than it is already shaping up to be.

PAUL MERSON PREDICTS: 2-0

I don't think Jose Mourinho could have hand-picked a better game than this to start the season. Hull have done well to get Jake Livermore and Tom Huddlestone and will be hard to break down; you can already see the pattern of the match with them getting 11 behind the ball and trying to do something from a set play. They can't afford to get beat fives or sixes on the opening day and some clubs need to get into a mentality that some games will be beyond them. This is a horrible start and they just need to avoid a drubbing.
But I know the way Mourinho plays and they're not usually a team that will go for the jugular. He'll make sure his team doesn't let in many goals and go from there. I can see this being a comfortable 2-0 win and I just hope it doesn't get silly.