Chelsea's only match from now until mid-October sees the Blues travel north, far north, all the way to where the Hull meets the Humber and the whale-ships used to call.
Both teams are coming off losses to Arsenal and Liverpool, made egregious for Chelsea simply by virtue of losing at home to the Reds and losing anywhere to the Gunners, and made egregious for Hull by virtue of giving up nine goals total in just those two games. The good news for either team is they both cannot lose today!
In all seriousness, this is an early must-win for Chelsea and Antonio Conte. The word out of camp is that everyone's working towards the same goal and the owner is fully behind the coach and everyone's wanting to do better and all that jazz, but a win would speak louder any words or rumors.
Date / Time: Saturday, October 1, 2016, 15:00 BST; 10am EDT; 7:30pm IST
Venue: KCOM Stadium, Kingston upon Hull, England
Referee: Anthony Taylor — Mr. Taylor's back for the second time already this season having overseen our opening day win over West Ham United at the Bridge. That's a Diego Costa yellow card guaranteed then.
Forecast: Chilly morning followed by scattered afternoon showers; summer's over
On TV: none (UK); NBCSN (USA); Star Sports 4 / Select HD1 (India); elsewhere
Streaming online: NBC Sports Live Extra; Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Start Sports (India); BBC 5 Live Extra (UK; radio)
Hull City team news: Hull City's issues regarding squad size, ownership, and uncertain managerial situation could fill pages on their own. It certainly doesn't help that they're near the top of the Premier League injury charts, with defender Michael Dawson's absence perhaps the one felt most. Ever-present winger Ahmed El Mohamady is suspended as well.
After back-to-back wins to start the season, Hull are winless in four, though in fairness, their losses have all come to top four contenders in Manchester United, Arsenal, and Liverpool. The Tigers are still alive in the League Cup after wins over Exeter City and Stoke City. They will face Tammy Abraham's Bristol City in the next round.
Caretaker manager Mike Phelan knows that not much is expected from him and his small squad of players. Which, in a way, makes them quite dangerous at this shaky time for Chelsea. For more on Hull, be sure to check out Rob's opposition analysis.
Chelsea team news: Despite the positive signs this week, John Terry has lost the race to be fit for the weekend. In his stead, Conte has confirmed that Gary Cahill will start once again. Cahill has made at least one costly error in each of his last four starts, but Conte's hands are somewhat tied with Kurt Zouma not quite ready for match action just yet. The big man could be available for selection after the international break, having been out since February with a torn ACL. Mikel John Obi will miss out as well through an unspecified minor issue.
After three wins in a row to start the season, Chelsea are winless in three, though in fairness, our losses have all come against proper top four contenders in Liverpool and Arsenal. Chelsea are still alive in the League Cup after wins over Bristol Rovers and Leicester City. We will face West Ham in the next round, our second meeting with the Hammers already this season.
Antonio Conte knows that much is expected of him and his expensive squad who won the league 16 months ago. Alas, there's no magic wand and improvement will only come through hard work, concentration, and maybe another major overhaul in the next transfer window or two.
Previously: Perhaps my favorite Courtois highlight for Chelsea is the triple save he made against Hull the last time we met. Five minutes later, Loïc Rémy would score Chelsea's winner.