Chelsea v Hull: Blues to sneak victory thanks to in-form Costa

Chelsea can extend their gap at the Premier League summit against Hull City on Sunday afternoon, but they’ll have to be at their best to beat a Tigers side rapidly improving under new boss Marco Silva.

The Blues have dominated this fixture historically, winning each of their last five meetings with the East Yorkshire side. But the Blues have had to put in some hard graft to earn those victories – with none of the last eight meetings won by more than a two-goal margin.

They’ve frequently relied on Diego Costa to be the difference-maker, with the Spanish international netting in each of the last three encounters between this pair. But with an understandably short 8/15 for him to net anytime here, the best value could be on him being last goalscorer.

Costa has netted the final goal in 10 games already this season, so the 12/5 for him to close the scoring here looks like a smart selection.

But their opponents also have an in-form hitman in Abel Hernandez. The Uruguayan already looks like a new player under Silva, with three goals in as many games, so we reckon the 4/1 for him to net anytime at Stamford Bridge looks well worth a flutter.

Indeed, Hull finally seem to have some real goalscoring threat under the new gaffer, with five goals in three outings since the Portuguese’s appointment. That means the 9/4 for Chelsea to win and Both Teams to Score is already proving popular with punters.

One trend we’ve seen this season from Antonio Conte’s men is victories by a single goal. The Blues have been more efficient than exciting this campaign, and have won by a solitary goal on seven occasions.

That means the 10/3 for Chelsea to win by 1 goal could be worth a flutter, while those who can see Hull snatching a point can enjoy odds of 6/4 on Hull +2.

In the match betting, it’s 2/11 for a home win, with Hull 16/1 to spring a shock win, and 13/2 on offer for the draw.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing