Chelsea are looking to bounce back from a surprise 1-0 loss at West Ham on Saturday when they travel to Huddersfield on Tuesday night. The champions suffered a poor defeat away to the Premier League’s bottom side for the second time this season, which capped off a pretty poor week. Having fluffed the chance to top their Champions League group with a 1-1 draw with Atletico, things just aren’t going right for the Blues right now. Can Antonio Conte inspire a turnaround, and take advantage of a straightforward December fixture list?
Their hopes of racking up points this month and pushing up the table have already been blown, with that defeat at London Stadium. However, Chelsea do have an impressive away record this term – but can they continue that here? Having won five of their eight matches on the road so far, Conte will be hoping that he can lead his side to victory over the newly promoted Terriers. However, the hosts are impressing in the top flight this season, and they have to be considered a threat. Having lost to West Ham and David Moyes, the Blues have to be fearful of most of the Premier League.
Team News: Conte Could Revert to Type After Struggles
Conte was quite bullish after the West Ham defeat, noting that the Blues have lost just four of their 16 matches so far. Obviously that isn’t good enough to sustain a title push, and the champions are facing a fight just to make it in to the top four this term. He’ll look to make a change after that, and switching to a 3-4-3 set-up once again could be the answer. It’s hard to see Tiemoue Bakayoko earning a place in the team this week – and it’s likely that N’Golo Kante and Cec Fabregas will be partnered up in the middle of the park. With a favourable fixture list to come, the Blues need to shake things up and get points on the board.
Huddersfield aren’t likely to have any major injury concerns heading into this game, which is a boost as they look to continue some solid home form. They set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation for their win over Brighton at the weekend, and we can’t see the Terriers looking to shake things up for a clash against the champions. That same approach was used in their clashes against the two Manchester clubs, and we expect them to treat Conte’s side as a similar threat. Having scored twice at the weekend, expect Steve Mounie to lead the line for the hosts.
Huddersfield Form
Huddersfield claimed a much needed win on Saturday, seeing off Brighton 2-0 at the John Smiths Stadium to keep their distance from the relegation zone. They’re now just outside the top half on goal difference, so the Terriers are enjoying an impressive first season in the Premier League, so they can’t be underestimated here. They did end a four game losing streak with that result, while it continued their impressive home form this term.
Huddersfield have won half of their home matches since gaining promotion to the top flight, suffering just two defeats. The Terriers may have slipped up against two of the top six – losing to Man City and Tottenham – but they also managed to pull off a victory over Man United here this term. Will they add to that when the champions visit on Tuesday?
Huddersfield v Chelsea Head to Head
These two sides have rarely met in recent years – the only two encounters were cup matches at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea are preparing for their first trip to Huddersfield since the early 70s, which was a very different time for both sides. Having built a new ground since then and after years in the lower reaches of the Football League, the Terriers will be viewing this as a huge game for them.
- Chelsea 3-1 Huddersfield, Feb 2008
- Chelsea 2-1 Huddersfield, Jan 2006
- Chelsea 2-2 Huddersfield, Jan 1972
- Huddersfield 1-2 Chelsea, Aug 1971
- Chelsea 0-0 Huddersfield, Mar 1971
Betting Tips
- Both teams to score – 5/4 with Betfred
- Chelsea and over 2.5 goals – 11/10 with Coral
Chelsea come into this one as heavy favourites for the points, they’re 1/3 with Ladbrokes to become just the third side to win at the John Smiths Stadium this season. The hosts are out at 10/1 with BetVictor for the victory, while the draw can be found at 4/1 with Betfair. The Blues may have lost out on the road on Saturday, but they’re clearly heavily fancied to get back to winning ways on their travels. Will they be the latest top side to win at this ground, or will they fall to a similar fate as United did here?
The Terriers do carry a threat going forward, although they are only really scoring in their home matches. Huddersfield have scored 73% of their goals this season at home, while they’ve not scored on the road since the opening day of the campaign. They’ve managed to score in their last four home matches, averaging exactly a goal per game at home this term. Having found the net against both Manchester sides, we’re backing them to score against the Blues. Backing BTTS in this one holds a certain appeal at 5/4 with Betfred.
The Blues will be looking to bounce back with a win, and the way that Tottenham and Man City won here should give them hope of a victory. Both of those defeats saw at least three goals scored, while 62% of the Blues’ trips have seen over 2.5 goals. With the visitors averaging close to two goals per game on their travels this term, we expect them to edge a high scoring match against a side who have a good scoring record in front of their own fans. We’re backing Chelsea to win and over 2.5 goals in the match, which can be backed at 11/10 with Coral.